Over the past 12 months UK law firm ACS: Law has allegedly sent hundreds of thousands of letters to individuals alleging copyright infringement. The tactic has been labelled speculative invoicing by critics.
The firm is believed to have relied on detecting internet protocol addresses for tracing infringement, which is similar to how piracy will be detected under Britain's Digital Economy Act.
On Monday January 24 the firm and its client Media Cat attempted to withdraw from proceedings before the Patents County Court in London against 27 people who received such letters, which alleged that they infringed Media Cat's copyrights using peer-to-peer networks.
Although 27 people were named in the dispute, it is believed some have settled prior to proceedings.
Lead lawyer Andrew Crossley cited the alleged hacking of his email and threats he has received as reasons for dropping the claims, but Judge Colin Birss refused to allow the proceedings to be dropped in such a way.
"I am not happy about this. I get the distinct impression that at every twist and turn there is a desire to avoid judicial scrutiny," Judge Briss is reported to have said by the British Guardian.
While he writes his judgment, Judge Birss has stopped ACS: Law and GCB, another firm that started sending similar so-called speculative invoices for Media Cat, from sending the letters. It is possible Birss's judgment might find a way to permanently stop the law firms sending these types of letters.
ACS: Law's conduct in sending the letters is already the subject of an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Michael Forrester of Ralli, which is representing five defendants in the case, said the judgment might have some important ramifications for Britain's controversial Digital Economy Act, which is up for judicial review in March.
"The same technical process, the use of internet protocol addresses to identify infringement, is at the heart of the Digital Economy Act," said Forrester.
Many of the people accused claim to have never downloaded material illegal and Ralli is behind a potential group action alleging harassment against ACS: Law.
"It could call into question the validity of relying on IP addresses in this way," said Forrester.
The judgment is due to be published in the next week. Keep reading Managing Copyright to follow this case.
