Court threatens sanctions against sleazy copyright troll lawyer

By Cory Doctorow at 2:18 pm Friday, Oct 7

Virginia district court Judge John A. Gibney has threatened to sanction D. Wayne O'Bryan, a personal injury lawyer with a sideline in copyright threats on behalf of pornographers. O'Bryan used subpoenas to get the personal information of people who allegedly downloaded pornographic movies over BitTorrent, then called the accused at home and threatened to sue them if they didn't settle with his clients for cash (he even shook down his computer repairman!). When the victims asked for a day in court, O'Bryan dropped the matter, which suggests that he wasn't interested in winning cases, just extracting easy cash from frightened people. Ars has a good story on the scammy tactics, and EFF is quotes the judge at length:

The Court currently has three similar cases before it, all brought by the same attorney. The suits are virtually identical in their terms, but filed on behalf of different film production companies. In all three, the plaintiffs sought, and the Court granted, expedited discovery allowing the plaintiffs to subpoena information from ISPs to identify the Doe defendants. According to some of the defendants, the plaintiffs then contacted the John Does, alerting them to this lawsuit and their potential liability. Some defendants have indicated that the plaintiff has contacted them directly with harassing telephone calls, demanding $2,900 in compensation to end the litigation. When any of the defendants have filed a motion to dismiss or sever themselves from the litigation, however, the plaintiffs have immediately voluntarily dismissed them as parties to prevent the defendants from bringing their motions before the Court for resolution.

This course of conduct indicates that the plaintiffs have used the offices of the Court as an inexpensive means to gain the Doe defendants' personal information and coerce payment from them. The plaintiffs seemingly have no interest in actually litigating the cases, but rather simply have used the Court and its subpoena powers to obtain sufficient information to shake down the John Does. Whenever the suggestion of a ruling on the merits of the claims appears on the horizon, the plaintiffs drop the John Doe threatening to litigate the matter in order to avoid the actual cost of litigation and an actual decision on the merits.

The plaintiffs' conduct in these cases indicates an improper purpose for the suits. In addition, the joinder of unrelated defendants does not seem to be warranted by existing law or a non-frivolous extension of existing law.

(Image: Wayne O'Bryan Richmond Virginia Attorney | O'Bryan Law Firm)

Courts Call Out Copyright Trolls' Coercive Business Model, Threaten Sanctions [eff.org] Tags: blackmail, Copyfight, copyright troll, eff, law, ripoff

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Tesco threatens journalist with arrest for writing down prices

A Guardian journalist who was researching prices at a Tesco supermarket was threatened with arrest for writing down prices as he walked around. The security guard who questioned him claimed that it was illegal to write down prices at Tesco's. The manager later allowed as how it wasn't illegal, merely against store policy.

Of course, Tesco can set any policy it wants for its premises (provided those policies don't violate other laws, such as laws regarding discriminating on the basis of disability, race or sex). But Tesco's customers can also ask pointed questions about those policies, such as, "If Tesco's prices are so great, why are they afraid of having people know what they are?" In this case, Tesco's had priced its bulk water so that it was more expensive than individual bottles -- just the sort of thing you might want a pad and paper handy to work out before you gave them your money.

And, of course, it's legal to do anything inside a Tesco that would be legal on the street outside, and Tesco's only remedy for violations of its policies is to ask you to leave.

"It's illegal to write things down and you can't take any photographs, either. If you want to check the prices, take the item to the till and pay for it there. The price will be on the receipt," he said, pointing me to the exit...

If we on Guardian Money bought every item available in Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons or Asda every day, we would be able to check prices, and see if that bottle of wine, or those washing powder tablets, really are half price. But we can't, and trading standards officers don't have the resources to, either. Spot checks are about the best we can do.

But even that, it appears, is unacceptable to the likes of Tesco. Next time I'll wander round the store speaking the prices into my mobile phone. It's got a record function. Note to Tesco company policy writer: ban customers from speaking into their phones.

Now it's illegal to write down prices in a Tesco supermarket (Thanks, @sicckid1972!)

(Image: Tesco, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from loopzilla's photostream)

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