The 5 steps to take when you receive a citation letter from the ISP

Copying music, movies, and software over the Internet using BitTorrent is now quite common. Sandvine recently published information on the amount of internet traffic used by top apps, with BitTorrent ranked as the #1 upstream app, #4 downstream app, and #4 overall app behind Netflix, YouTube, and HTTP. What’s worse is that many people don’t even know that it’s illegal to use BitTorrent or other file sharing programs to copy content. Given this background, it should come as no surprise that copyright holders have become increasingly aggressive in going after Internet file sharers.

While file sharing laws began several years ago based on music sharing on services like Napster, Grokster, and LimeWire, the vast majority of massive copyright lawsuits now focus on BitTorrent. Torrent lawsuits typically take the form of a copyright holder suing numerous “John Doe” or “Doe” defendants. The defendants are named as John Doe because the copyright holder only knows them by their individual IP addresses. However, once litigation has begun, the copyright owner may seek the Court’s permission to issue subpoenas to the Internet service providers of the various Doe Defendants in the case. Subpoenas to ISPs will seek identification and contact information for the persons in the case, including each person’s name and address, and typically a phone number and email address.

If you have received a subpoena letter from your ISP informing you that your information will be turned over to a massive copyright claimant in the near future, you and your family are likely under enormous stress. In addition, there is a lot of conflicting advice on the Internet, most of it posted by non-attorneys or by attorneys who have handled few or none of these types of lawsuits. Also, most online sources don’t really provide practical advice. Below is a plan of action that I recommend to clients and hopefully can help you resolve your copyright claim.

single action

1. Don’t ignore the citation letter. Make no mistake about it: you have been accused of copyright infringement by copying content over the internet, and the copyright holder has filed a lawsuit. This is no laughing matter. There is a lot of bad advice on the internet that you can just ignore a citation letter from the ISP. However, default judgments of over one million dollars ($1,000,000) have been awarded in multiple file sharing laws where ISP summons letters are ignored. Ignoring a citation letter from the ISP can literally ruin your life, don’t.

2. Act fast. Take the ISP citation letter seriously and get going immediately. With every case, the key parameter of your action plan is whether you will fight the claim or settle. You’ll want to determine this before the date your ISP releases your information to the copyright holder. In particular, unless the copyright owner has been prohibited from listing you publicly, the copyright owner will be free to do so once they have your information, which gives the copyright owner copyright an additional influence on you (especially if the content you are accused of copying is pornographic). Similarly, obtaining information about file sharers is costly for copyright holders: it requires a successful citation. Once your name is “out there,” it’s much more likely that a second copyright holder will decide to come after you.

3. Get the facts. The first step in determining whether you want to fight the case or settle is to determine whether the allegations that have been leveled against you are true. Here is a checklist for your investigation:

General Background Questions

• Who are the computer users in your home?
• Of all the computer users, are any of them under 18?
• Do you or anyone else in your household copy content from the Internet?

General Computer Questions

• What is the make and model of the computers in your home, including desktops, laptops, servers, smart TVs, gaming platforms, digital media players including DVD players, Blu-Ray players, game consoles, handheld gaming devices, phones and tablets.
• Is there a BitTorrent client installed on any computer in the house? If so, which ones?
• Is there antivirus software installed on any computers in the house? If so, which ones?
• Who is your broadband internet service provider?
• Who is your cable or satellite service provider?
• Who is your wireless service provider?

network issues

• Is your network completely wired or is there a wireless router?

Wireless Router Questions

• What different networks are configured for wireless access? For example, it is common to set up a “full access” network and a “guest” network.
• Does each network have a password or is it open?
• For each network with a password, who knows the password?
• Does the router keep a log of network access and show any unexplained activity?

Based on your investigation, you need to put together a picture of what really happened. Did you or someone in your household use BitTorrent to copy copyrighted content? If so, who did it? Could your computer have been hacked? If so, do you have evidence that can back that up?

4. Contact an attorney. An experienced attorney can explain your options in much more detail than a short article like this one. Also, if you decide to negotiate a settlement, a lawyer can arrange for his identity to be kept secret from the copyright claimant. Most importantly, a qualified attorney can offer guidance on the right approach for your case.

Ideally, you’ll want to contact an attorney who (1) has handled several of these lawsuits, (2) is capable of litigating a case rather than simply “negotiating a settlement,” and (3) is licensed to practice in your state and in the particular United States District Court in which you live.

First of all, file sharing cases are, at heart, steeped in copyright infringement. Most attorneys have never and never will handle a copyright infringement matter, and are not aware of the particular idiosyncrasies of copyright infringement claims. Consequently, an attorney who handled a personal injury claim for someone you know is unlikely to be the right choice to handle this type of claim. The same is true for an attorney handling DUI claims or divorces.

Second, many intellectual property attorneys who are familiar with copyright law rarely litigate cases. Consequently, they are not going to have an idea of ​​the real dynamics of your case, such as the experience of the other party’s attorney, how much is a reasonable settlement, etc.

Third, a lawyer can only litigate a case in the courts in which he is admitted. For example, my firm’s copyright litigation attorneys are admitted to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. While most file sharing cases are resolved without major litigation, your case may require major litigation: If the attorney you chose is not admitted to the court where the case will be tried, you will need to retain a local attorney, which will only add to your expense.

5. Have your attorney pursue a lawsuit. Once you know what the copyright plaintiff wants, you and your attorney can determine the best approach to take with your case. In particular, if the claim is low enough, consider paying it or having your attorney negotiate further. On the other hand, if the demand is high, your attorney can advise you if you can win your case. You should know that litigating a copyright case is quite expensive. Many firms, like mine, offer ordinary families who are forced to litigate these claims advantageous terms so that they can fight a claim if necessary. Also, if you win your lawsuit, the copyright plaintiff may be required to pay your attorneys’ fees.

If you have received a citation letter from the ISP, there is no doubt that you are under a lot of stress. You definitely want to fix the situation as soon as possible. However, it is important to approach this decision carefully and without emotion. I hope the action plan I outlined can help you do that.