According to a DR report, law firm Opus has sent letters to citizens of Denmark (Danes) for downloading pirated movies using online services. They are ordered to pay up to 2,000 kroner (about $300) of fines or end up facing jail time. Opus is representing clients who own the rights to the materials being downloaded.
Consumer lawyer and forbrugerbloggen.dk operator, Peter Fogh Knudsen, said “I know there are no defendants who have been convicted in such cases. On the contrary, Østre and Vestre High Court have acquitted consumers because they [the law firms] have been unable to prove that it was the recipient of the bill that made the illegal downloads.”
On the other hand, the Danish Consumer Ombudsman who supervises compliance with Danish marketing law has warned the letter recipients that ignoring them could lead to debt collection threat and penalty charges. This independent public authority ensures that business and trade complies with the Danish Marketing Practices Act.
Folkmann-Schjerbeck, a senior consultant with the outfit, said that “if you don’t believe you have downloaded the film, you should tell your law firm immediately”. He added, “[If you ignore the letters] there is a risk that they will return and may impose penalty charges, and you may be threatened with debt collection and find yourself on the RKI register. We want to avoid the situation of consumers ending up in such a situation.”
At Maverickeye, we strongly agree and believe that copyright letters should not be ignored. In fact, it is best to deal with it straightaway to avoid potential problems. It is what we advise those we detected from our copyright infringement software.