Voltage Pictures, the copyright owner of Dallas Buyers Club, are seeking payment from more than 4,000 Australians who illegally shared (seeded) the movie on the popular peer-to-peer file sharing network, BitTorrent.
In April, internet providers including iiNet lost a Federal Court battle to keep secret the names of internet users who shared a Hollywood blockbuster over file-sharing networks.
Justice Nye Perram ruled that a discovery order lodged by Dallas Buyers Club LLC should be granted, "but that there should be orders maintaining the privacy" of internet users.
But any letter to be sent to those users will need to be signed off by the judge, with the draft submitted to the Federal Court of Australia.
The draft letter, which has been published on Mashable Australia, would invite people to confess their piracy and offer the opportunity to reach a settlement.
If a person denies they are a pirate, that person may be compelled to “deliver up your computer for analysis”, the letter says.
"If you admit that you engaged in Piracy and no settlement can be reached, then DBC and Voltage may commence proceedings against you for Copyright Infringement," the letter reads.
Internet Service Provider iiNet, in partnership with a law firm, has offered free legal advice to people who receive a letter from the DBC rights holders.
Dallas Buyers Club LLC and Voltage Pictures LLC targeted six Australian telcos - iiNet, Internode, Dodo, Amnet Broadband, Adam Internet and Wideband Networks - when they sought personal details associated with more than 4700 IP addresses that were used to share Dallas Buyers Club using BitTorrent.
The internet service providers opposed the application, citing concerns the filmmakers could intimidate subscribers with "speculative invoicing" - a strategy that involves sending intimidating letters to alleged offenders threatening legal action and seeking large sums of money.
The settlement option includes some intrusive questions contained in a script submitted to the Federal Court of Australia.
People who wish to settle would need to call a phone number or send an email to an address, both provided in the letter within 28 days. "If you do not, then court action may be commenced against you without further notice."
The draft telephone script says a pirate’s payment to reach settlement would depend on their circumstances.
However, the letter does not state how much money would be sought from the pirates in court, only that they would pay for damages and court costs.
Questions in the draft script, on the Mashable Australia site:
- Are you unemployed, disabled or suffering from terminal illness?
- Are you serving in the military?
- Are you currently employed and on what basis?
- What is your annual income?
- How long have you been using the BitTorrent network?
- Did you download DBC on the BitTorrent network? If so, when? If not, how did get it on your computer to make it available to the BitTorrent Network?
- When did you download it or put it onto your computer?
- How long have you made DBC available on the BitTorrent network?
- How many titles do you have available now and in the past on the BitTorrent network?
The draft letter published on Mashable Australia's website:
