Recent Event Highlights: Appeal to release of NP orders denied, Law firm cuts copyright corners...again, Andrew J Crossley now sole principal of ACS:Law, Nicola Beale is no longer a partner in ACS:Law, ACS:Law found to infringe copyright on their website, New address for ACS:Law, and 19 more...
Created by beingthreatened on 02/06/2009
Last updated: 17/11/09 at 09:55
An appeal to stop the release of the NP orders was denied, unfortunately incurring court costs of £1000. However, it has succeeded in bringing the situation with the letters to Chief Master Winegarten's attention.
High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, before Chief Master Winegarten. June 8, 2009, 11am.
http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/list_chancery.htm
Some of the images used on the ACS:Law website are not used in accordance with their license requirements. Most notably, the owner of one of the images is not credited, even though a photo credit is expressly required by the image license.
http://beingthreatened.yolasite.com/btblog/credit-where-credit-is-due-
BBC Radio Four consumer affairs radio programme 'You and Yours' devoted a segment to this issue. They spoke to a recipient of a letter of claim, Andrew Crossley from ACS and someone from Lawanswers.co.uk.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00kn0kn/You_and_Yours_03_06_2009/
The ACS:Law website now shows the following information: "ACS Law Solicitors is the trading style of Andrew J. Crossley, Sole Principal."
http://www.acs-law.org.uk/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=61
Confirmation from the SRA that ACS:Law was dissolved on 19th May. There might be an application pending. Presumably this is the result of Nicola Beale, one of the partners, leaving.
http://www.slyck.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=44092&start=4000#p520323
A forum reader went to visit ACS:Law at their new address. An ACS:Law employee confirmed that Nicola Beale is no longer a partner in ACS:Law.
http://www.slyck.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=44092&start=3950#p520135
The record for ACS:Law has disappeared from the Law Society database.
http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosingandusing/findasolicitor.law
In an article published on their site entitled “20th Century Fox hit by illegal downloads” (page has been removed after this was published). ACS:Law appear to have taken the easy option and instead of writing their own article, chose to cut and paste paragraph after paragraph of other people’s work, passing it off as their own, without so much as a link to any source or a mention of an author’s or publication name. Google cache URL: http://bit.ly/acslol
http://torrentfreak.com/acs-law-anti-piracy-lawyers-are-copyright-infringers-090529/
The 2nd letters people have received have a new address for ACS:Law: 83 Victoria Street, London. These are serviced offices. ACS:Law does not operate from here, it is just where they receive mail and hold occasional meetings/interviews.
Recipients of the first letter receive a second letter reiterating the allegations and threats.
http://beingthreatened.yolasite.com/resources/ACS_second_letter.JPG
A new website with the content from beingscammed.com is created to make sure people can educate themselves about this issue.
http://beingthreatened.yolasite.com
The owner of the beingscammed.com website, a website that collates information about this issue and educates alleged file-sharers, is forced to take down his website after being threatened by ACS:Law.
http://www.beingscammed.com
Davenport Lyons says its work for "clients in the sphere of illegal file-sharing has reached its conclusion," while ACS: LAW is just getting started.
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/86233/uk-law-firm-quits-suing-file-sharers-en-masse-another-takes-its-place/
ACS: Law register as Data Controllers with the ICO so that they may lawfully receive and handle personal information from ISPs.
ACS: Law send out letters of claim, alleging file-sharing and infringement on copyright.
Hearing before Chief Master Winegarten again orders ISPs to release personal information of alleged file-sharers to ACS: Law
Consumer group Which? has complained to the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) about letters sent by Davenport Lyons to alleged file-sharers on behalf of copyright owners.
http://www.thelawyer.com/which?-makes-formal-bullying-complaint-about-davenport-lyons/136039.article
BBC Watchdog present article about Davenport Lyons sending threatening Letters and accusing innocents.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2008/12/davenport_lyons_threatening_le.html
Long-time gamers favourite Atari has dropped its plans to use law firm Davenport-Lyons to sue suspected UK file sharers as the company ended its relationship with its lawyers after what has been a damaging Public Relations exercise.
http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2008/11/29/atari-drops-controversial-lawsuit-against-filesharers/
Hearing before Chief Master Winegarten orders ISPs to release personal information of alleged file-sharers to ACS: Law
http://www.acs-law.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51&Itemid=60
Hearing before Judge Fysh goes uncontested and Topware awarded damages by default. There is no transcript of this hearing or judgment so no proof that it even took place. The defendant can't be found anywhere or even proven to exist.
http://www.legalbanter.co.uk/uk-legal-legal-issues-uk/52514-davenport-lyons-toppware-v-barwinska.html
Study by Piatek, Kohno and Krishnamurthy shows false positive results for alleged file-sharers.
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9535/study_bittorrent_users_prone_to_false_copyright_infringement_claims/
Hearing before Chief Master Winegarten for Davenport Lyons and Digiprotect, orders ISPs to release personal information of alleged file-sharers
http://www.digiprotect.org/html/hc_london_300608.html
German Federal Constitutional Court rules that no personal information will be handed over to lawyers chasing alleged file-sharers.
http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=2034
Italian Garante della Privacy finds Logistep acting illegally and orders Logistep to delete all records within two weeks
http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-company-spied-on-thousands-of-p2p-users-080317/
Hearing before Master Behrens for DL and Topware, orders ISPs to release personal information of alleged file-sharers
http://beingthreatened.yolasite.com/resources/Topware,ak1of2007.pdf
French Lawyer Elizabeth Martin who was working with Logistep is banned from practising law for 6 months and banned from belonging to any register of lawyers for 10 years for sending threatening letters alleging file-sharing
http://torrentfreak.com/lawyer-who-threatened-file-sharers-banned-6-months-080405/
uropean Court of Justice rules that member states of the EU are not required to order ISPs to divulge personal information to lawyers chasing alleged file-sharers.
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/12741.cfm
Swiss Data Protection Commissioner orders Logistep to stop illegally collecting data or face further action
http://www.infoworld.com/d/developer-world/antipiracy-groups-tactics-violate-swiss-law-836
Advocate General Juliane Kokott advises European Union high courts not to order ISPs to hand over personal information to lawyers.
http://curia.europa.eu/jurisp/cgi-bin/form.pl?lang=en&Submit=Rechercher&alldocs=alldocs&docj=docj&docop=docop&docor=docor&docjo=docjo&numaff=C-275/06&datefs=&datefe=&nomusuel=&domaine=&mots=&resmax=100
Andrew Crossley (now of ACS: Law) is fined by SRA for Conduct Unbefitting a Solicitor
http://beingthreatened.yolasite.com/resources/20090513140313.pdf
Association of Police Chief Officers (ACPO) Guidelines drawn up asking for "An audit trail or other record of all processes applied to computer based electronic evidence should be created and preserved. An independent third party should be able to examine those processes and achieve the same result."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_forensics
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1988/UKpga_19880048_en_1.htm
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