U.K. Copyright Lawyer Quits Over Death Threats

[scotth266]

Death threats over $790 strike me as being a little bit more than business as usual when it comes to lawyers being threatened.

I like how some folks in this thread are justifying the man's life being threatened because he's a lawyer for the copyright industry.

 

[Woodsey]

snip

What do you think would have stopped it?

"But a bigger problem for Crossley, and possibly a bigger motivation for his departure, is that people who have been targeted by the ACS: Law campaign may be able to pursue the firm for harassment."

You know, the proper way. If all (or most) of the people had done that then this rather disreputable firm would have likely backed off.

Death threats over $790 strike me as being a little bit more than business as usual when it comes to lawyers being threatened.

I like how some folks in this thread are justifying the man's life being threatened because he's a lawyer for the copyright industry.

Wait until you hear some of their bullshit excuses for piracy, some are really quite amazing.

One guy the other day told me he believed things that are a part of our culture should be free.

 

[Sgt Pepper]

So now creators are gonna start being afraid/hesitant to protect their work, since the lawyers are gonna start receiving death and bomb threats. This piracy thing is getting way out of hand. When will people realize that piracy does nothing but harm the creator and damage sales? And now the pirates are actually threatening physical violence if lawyers are called in to arbitrate?

I'm sorry, but this is just going too far.

This isn't really about piracy though, it's about a very shady solicitor with some dubious business practices.

And yes, he may have received threats but I doubt any of them were much more than some very upset people, accused of things they didn't do, blowing off steam.

 

[Sovvolf]

And now watch as everyone condones it.

I had a big long post sey out but I'll just reference the thread where half the posters rejoiced in the death of a guy because he tried to mug someone, and say that people need to get themselves a little perspective before they start "sticking it to the man".

No, these guys should not have been sending fines to people they weren't sure were file-sharers, that doesn't justify sending bloody death threats.

I have to agree with you here Woodsey. Seems everybody is fine with people targeting those trying to prevent pirating. Yeah, these people probably weren't doing it for the morality of the situation but more for the money. However people here are cheering for the fact that a fellow getting in the way of them stealing peoples work has had death threats and that its a victory that he's quit.

 

[Motiv_]

And now watch as everyone condones it.

I had a big long post sey out but I'll just reference the thread where half the posters rejoiced in the death of a guy because he tried to mug someone, and say that people need to get themselves a little perspective before they start "sticking it to the man".

No, these guys should not have been sending fines to people they weren't sure were file-sharers, that doesn't justify sending bloody death threats.

I have to agree with you here Woodsey. Seems everybody is fine with people targeting those trying to prevent pirating. Yeah, these people probably weren't doing it for the morality of the situation but more for the money. However people here are cheering for the fact that a fellow getting in the way of them stealing peoples work has had death threats and that its a victory that he's quit.

The problem I see here isn't people condoning piracy, or condoning death threats, but the fact that this so called law firm basically blackmailed hundreds of people for absolutely no reason at all.

It'd be like you coming home to a letter on your front door saying "Listen, there's been a theft in the area, and we have proof that you did it. But if you give us 500 bucks, we'll keep quiet and won't press charges."

He's not "Standing in the way of piracy" by any means, he's using it as an excuse to "Steal" money of his own.

 

[Low Key]

Meh, I have very little sympathy from these corporate bullies.
I remember once I came home from a stressful day and I got a call from a bill collector and the lady started threatening me saying she was going to ruin my life if I didn't fork over money, that my wife would leave me and my kids would be destitute and just started insulting me by calling me a deadbeat and the scum of the world. I was like wtf, I don't owe anyone any money, ended up she misdialed the number. Just hung up, no apology nothing. I called the number back, and demanded to talk to a supervisor. Supervisor comes after like 20 minutes of waiting, I tell him what was said, he asks whether or not I was the person in question who owed the money, I said no. He told me to mind my own business and hung up.
I of course was enraged and called back several times, guy hung up every time, 3rd time he said that if I kept calling he would have me arrested and sued for harassment.

It is complete bs that these kinda of companies can treat people so poorly and not be held accountable at all.

I hope you kept calling. I know I would have. Then again, you are in a different country than I.

 

[Reed Spacer]

Normally I'd care, but this guy is a blackmailing little prick.

Hooray for the internet!

 

[Beat14]

You do wonder if there's a real difference between a bomb threat and a death threat.

I'm assuming that the death threats were personal to him alone, whilst a bomb could blow up and kill him and his family.

Either way may involve him dying, but the family isn't going to be feeling secure knowing someone is sending bombs threats. This strain on his family may have pushed him towards standing down quicker.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Wait, so a man running a litigation scam suffered a negative response? I'm shocked, truly shocked. Good luck to him in his new, non scammy life though, I hope he does alright.

You do wonder if there's a real difference between a bomb threat and a death threat.

If I was sending a bomb, I'd load it with rotted cow shit. Negligible killing power but more effective than a hydrogen bomb. Also, cow poo bombs cannot be defused by James May.

 

[HentMas]

Well, i had a friend who was harassed by an unknown lawyer in an unknown firm behind hundreds and hundreds of red tape, for 6000 bucks (more or less)

because he owed 30 bucks to C&A...

the "lawyer" told him that every "store credit card" he signed up for was an "IOU" worth 3000 bucks, and that if he didnt payed his 100 bucks (more or less regarding interests) that he owed the company he would be taken to court and made to pay the full 6000 (apparently my friend signed up for the card twice... the first one regecting his submision didnt rejected the "IOU" hahaha)

needles to say my friend tryed to sue the bastard, but well, he was well hidden behind a whole burocratic stair and no one in the store (the guys he actually owed money) were able to help him.

hows that for legal harasment??

 

[Woodsey]

snip

Isn't he basically just an employee for the firm? What's he got to lose as long as he's getting paid? Either way, the firm couldn't have been blind enough to have this huge oversight of people suing for harassment. They probably just weren't threatened by the possibility at all.

Besides, it's simpler to just tell the guy you'll cut his balls off than spend the time getting a lawyer, researching, suing and all that jazz.

And it's probably quicker to shoot illegal immigrants than go through all the paperwork, but most people have some sense of moral decency so that they can realise that the easy option isn't always the right one.

And I don't know what you're replying to because you've snipped the comment.

 

[kajinking]

I really wish the severity of the threats was made a bit more clear in the article. If the company's office recived one or two threatening calls in an attempt to scare off the company I can partially understand. Calling the guy's house with bomb threats is something I cannot condone no matter how big a scam the company was running. On a side note however we can pretty much confirm there wasn't any moral highground to the companies' actions considering they were threatening to sue thousands with ONE, count'em ONE registered Lawyer. Generally when you go into a situation expecting a fight against thousands whether is be on the battlefield or in the courtroom you never go in with one soldier or lawyer.

 

[Scars Unseen]

No sympathy here. I don't condone death threats, but you don't take a gig that has you threatening strangers en masse without expecting a bit of backlash. This is coming from a guy that more or less acts as a proxy for people doing the same thing (except without monetary demands, so I mostly just get feigned innocence).

 

[risenbone]

Well lets look at it this way.

The guys a lawyer bit of a shark you could say with the way he was planning to make himself money. Things look to be going well however there was a group of people who managed to get together and work out a counter suit which was leading to an investigation which could of exposed said lawyer to more losses than potential gains and not only that but maybe set up legal precadent to stop similar future scams.

Now when you walk away what do you tell everyone you certainly don't tell them well we really had a pretty weak case and we were basicly relying on scaring the crap out of everyone we sent letters too because that gives the people probable cause to question stuff, demand other stuff and exposes the scam for what it is. Nope you say you backed down under threat of physical harm and hope people don't ask for proof and just take it on face value I mean he said he was crimminally assulted where are the police reports from that?

Sorry but your dealing with a guy who would sell his own family to make a bit of extra scratch or at least thats how it sounds from the way they went about this business I wouldn't exactly believe everything that comes out of the guys mouth when his trying to dodge an investigation into his practices.

 

[Arkley]

Reading this thread made me genuinely sad. Not necessarily for the lawyer or for those who received those letters, but for the state of the Escapist forums.

Look, guys. I don't like copyright law much when it's enforced like this either. I don't like corporate bully lawyers, and it's clear that what he was doing was quite dubious. But what those guys did when they threatened the lawyer was nothing short of terrorism.

They didn't agree with what the guy was doing, so they threatened to kill him 'till he stopped. They didn't challenge his accusations or demand evidence, they didn't refute his claims. They didn't call the police or a lawyer of their own to investigate a potential scam. They threatened to kill him. And here you are (some of you), celebrating that fact.

It's easy to get behind death threats and sabre-rattling when it's about something you believe in, isn't it? You don't have to be wearing a bomb-vest and a turban to be a terrorist, and you don't have to stand in the street burning flags to support it.

I know it's such a horribly cliché thing to say, but I honestly expected more from this place.

 

[hadeze]

Come on who hasn't had a few death threats made against them in this day and age. I mean I have had fourteen made against me so far today and I haven't even left my house yet.

 

[Anti-Robot Man]

I find it hard to believe that the death threats were a big part of his departure, people recieve death threats all the time. The fact that he was part of a dubious get rich quick scheme(the only actual lawyer involved) saw things turning sour, at risk of counter law suit and the ruining of his professional career were far more likely to be the cause. Blaming the death threats is a way to make himself appear more sympathetic while simultaneously tarring the aledged copyright infringers as lunatics. Who knows how many people were scared into paying up regardless of guilt.

Also a death threat percieved as genuine will be investigated by the police (if the lawyer presents the threats to them), so anyone who did so is not acting with impunity as his company has tried to get away with.