p2pnet.net news:- German games software distributor Zuxxez is after alleged British file-sharers.

And using a firm called Davenport Lyons, it’s mimicking a ploy much favoured by entertainment cartel enforcers, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) in particular, even offering victims a ’settlement’ option with threats of huge fines if they don’t agree to the extortion.

“File sharers were reported under court orders served on 18 ISPs at Davenport’s request after computer forensic experts associated their IP addresses as sources for downloaders of Dream Pinball 3D, a computer game that’s unleased in the UK - it goes on sale in June,” says The Register, going on:

“Letters sent to 500 file sharers recommended paying a £600 (today, $1,179) fine for sharing the £16.99 (today, about $33) computer game on a peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Failure to pay would result in prosecution and potential court costs of ‘tens of thousands of pounds’.”

Davenport Lyons describes itself as a, “commercially focused law firm acting for businesses and entrepreneurial clients from a wide range of market sectors including entertainment, media, property, retail and banking,” with “38 partners, 12 Associates and 50 other fee-earners”. It boasts it’s, “grown to have one of the largest dedicated media, entertainment and leisure practices in London.”

And the company is using its new German deal to start a specialist “practice,” says The Register.

“A partner at the firm, who preferred to remain anonymous for ’security reasons’ said Davenport had other publishers in the pipeline,” says the story. Davenport has a phone service, “but has, “told staff not to tell anyone their names,” and ‘or else’ letters they send out aren’t signed by anyone either.

The partner, and another who spoke about the campaign, “said they were also worried about being threatened or spammed, and were worried about the welfare of their female employees,” says the story, although they admitted, “the only calls that gave them concern had been ones from people demanding that they speak with the engineer and not the oily rag’.”

Say Zuxxez quickly and it sounds like ’sucks’.

Slashdot it!

Also See:
The Register - Games firm pursues 500 pinball ‘pirates’ through UK courts, March 28, 2007

If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at thIs the end (of the Net) nigh?zze University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.

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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 29th, 2007 at 7:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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