Two weeks ago, over a hundred thousand people torrented the blockbuster “London Has Fallen” and many of these pirates are now being punished. The film makers are dishing out automated $300 fines and over a thousand United States citizens are being sued.
Piracy is viewed as a huge threat Hollywood’s profit margins, but many do not take the time to go after the file-sharers.
LHF Productions and Millennium Films are two companies who have no problem spending the time to catch the pirates.
A couple weeks ago, a Blue-Ray rip of the movie was put online, around a week before the official release. Following the upload, hundreds of thousands of people pirated the movie. The companies were outraged and to compensate for the possible loss of revenue LHF Productions has filed a lawsuit against against 1,000 plus pirates.
The cases are filed against users only identified by their IP-addresses and the studio is working hard to reveal the pirate’s true identities.
The settlements bypass the courts and are delivered as a part of DMCA notice. Many internet providers will forward these notices to the account owners.
Example of the notice
“CEG informs you that you may be held liable for monetary damages, including court costs and/or attorney fees if a lawsuit is commenced against you for unauthorized copying and/or distribution of the Work listed above,” it states.
“If you fail to respond or settle within the prescribed time period, the above matter may be referred to attorneys representing the Work’s owner for legal action. At that point the original settlement offer will no longer be an option, and the settlement amount will increase significantly,” the company mentions.
CEG TEK is not new to the scene, but it’s not often we see notices for such a high-profile movie. Despite the anti-piracy efforts, thousands of users are still sharing and downloading the film.
