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Judge dismisses ACS:Law file-sharing cases

The full judgment is on bailii. It doesn't establish anything, beyond the facts that (a) the claims were not very well pleaded, (b) the correct procedures for obtaining default judgment in the Patents Court were not followed properly and (c) there is no English authority on the question of the subscriber's liability for copyright infringement which occurs through an unsecured internet connection. If claimants with a proper claim are entitled to use the full machinery of the courts, it must equally be the case that they are entitled to follow the standard pre-action procedures, which include sending letters of claim and making settlement offers. As far as the SRA investigation is concerned, the SRA's policy is (according to its website) not to publish a decision to prosecute before the SDT until the SDT has certified that there is a prima facie case. Is it disapplying that policy in this instance? Or has the tribunal certified that there is a case to answer?

15-Dec-2010

11:08 pm