Copyright trolls abusing State Court system to find and extort victims.

[DetlefK]

So, you illegally downloaded something. Which means, the internet-provider knows the IP-address "somebody" used for the download. (Nowadays, IP-addresses are dynamic and no longer fixed to a computer. Which means that multiple people will eventually end up using the same IP-address at some point.)

Copyright trolls, such as Strike3, go to court and file a "bill of discovery": They already KNOW which state you are in via geolocation-software and how the IP-system works. They want the government to help them find out who had the IP-address then and there when the illegal download happened. Which means, they now have your name and sue you for damages.



Now, here's their trick: They file their "bill of discovery" not in YOUR state. (They know beforehand in which state you are.) They file it in SOME OTHER state. Strike3 uses the state court in Miami Dade, Florida. This way, their lawsuit for damages is now handled in Florida, NO MATTER where in the US you actually live.

Why is this important? Because now you are the defendant in a lawsuit far, far away from your hometown, you need to hire a Florida lawyer, you might be forced to show up in person in court in Florida, you will be on the public record for having been sued... That's gonna really eat into your time, money and reputation.



But, lucky you, Strike3 is offering you a way out. For just a few hundred or a few thousand bucks they are willing to settle and make this all go away...