A 70-year-old San Francisco widow known as the “porn granny” who swears she didn’t illegally download any porn (a likely story) won’t have to worry about being sued over it any more.
SF Gate’s James Temple reports that it was a case that “some said bordered on extortion.” The Chicago-based Steele Hansmeier PLLC filed cases against thousands of people over what they said were illegal downloads and would send the defendants letters urging them to settle for a few grand, saying that it would be cheaper and “keep their name out of a court case tied to porn.”
Some people will pay up even if they’ve done nothing wrong.
Temple says that law firms can get defendants names by subpoenaing Internet service providers for the account holders linked to the online address seen downloading or sharing copyrighted files on sites such as BitTorrent. “But it's a notoriously fallible way to identify actual violators,” he points out.
Jane (not her real name) was accused but didn’t cave to the letter and though the law firm says that the press attention that the incident garnered had nothing to do with its decision, Jane’s not caving to that, either.
“They had an unwinnable case, and I called them on it,” she told SF Gate. “And I hope other people do, too.”
SF Gate’s James Temple reports that it was a case that “some said bordered on extortion.” The Chicago-based Steele Hansmeier PLLC filed cases against thousands of people over what they said were illegal downloads and would send the defendants letters urging them to settle for a few grand, saying that it would be cheaper and “keep their name out of a court case tied to porn.”
Some people will pay up even if they’ve done nothing wrong.
Temple says that law firms can get defendants names by subpoenaing Internet service providers for the account holders linked to the online address seen downloading or sharing copyrighted files on sites such as BitTorrent. “But it's a notoriously fallible way to identify actual violators,” he points out.
Jane (not her real name) was accused but didn’t cave to the letter and though the law firm says that the press attention that the incident garnered had nothing to do with its decision, Jane’s not caving to that, either.
“They had an unwinnable case, and I called them on it,” she told SF Gate. “And I hope other people do, too.”
Just shows that after a certain age, you just don't worry about what people think about you. You do what you want to do, and the Devil take the hind most.