Some schools have an attorney on campus, and most of the time their fees are covered by your tuition. I would call your school and ask them if they offer any free legal services.

bic:

I got en email from my school forwarding me a letter saying I've violated 3 copyrights and they're offering a settlement of $250 a piece. Allegedly, media was downloaded using my school ID.

"If you fail to respond or settle within the prescribed time period, the above matter may be referred to attorneys representing the Work's owner for legal action. At that point the original settlement offer will no longer be an option, and the settlement amount will increase significantly."

How good are the chances they sue me over $750? That's money I can't afford right now.

IMO dude these things are largely a shake down. Mind you the settlement is for $750, doesn't mean they won't sue you for more.

Me, I would throw the letter away. Not everyone rolls like that.

I got one of these saying I had to meet with school administrators about it. I never did and just trashed it. Moved off campus the next year and amplified my downloading 5x

rip

I'm reading shit about how this company is a "copyright troll" and sends out tons of these and hardly ever sues. But they have sued...

What happens if they sue me and I don't have the money? I'm a college student. I can't even afford these $750 really. What if they sue me and win $500,000. What then?

A lot of thins can happen. Wage garnishment, make you sell shit, etc. I seriously doubt they'll make a big deal over $750, but if it'll keep you up at night, call your school and ask them for legal assistance/assistance in general.

I got letter like that from a cable company, I threw it away. It's been like 3 years.

The movie I allegedly downloaded?

Machete

1) It will be very difficult to prove that you were the actual person who downloaded the content & not someone who stole your school ID etc. 2) They are not representing Shakira or whatever content you downloaded they are trying to get you to pay them, in the contract I'm 99% sure they claim they still have the right to sue you even if you provide them this fee. 3) Why would you DL something when your internet access is linked directly to your name/location/PC?!

Keep the letter in case you get into a serious legal matter & maybe see your schools legal counsel just so it goes on record while gaining some peace of mind. Overall I think its bullshit & wouldn't pay.

Tell them you're the victim of identity theft

"It wasn't me"

First things first. Consult your student handbook.

First things first. Consult your student handbook.

First things first. Consult your student handbook.

First things first. Consult your student handbook.

First things first. Consult your student handbook.

First things first. Consult your student handbook.

The last thing you want to do is pay the fine, admitting fault, then your school throws the book at you over some piracy or ethics clause in the handbook. Nothing like spending $750 to lose 50k.

Here is what I would do:

1. First things first. Consult your student handbook.

2. Ignore it.

These are shake downs. It will cost them more in billable hours to make a weak case against you.

Really? My username was traced to a download? There are people in the IT department who have your username and PW. Teachers might have it. Black board administrators might have it.

Some kid might have glanced at your keyboard while you typed it in one day before class started.

Maybe they traced the IP address, perhaps someone spoofed your IP so they could download stuff and have it go to you. Chances are your computer isn't setup for a static IP, hence its a different IP every time you log on to the network. Maybe someone else did it under the IP you last used. Maybe you were using the computer via wifi and someone piggy backed onto your connection and downloaded everything.

Perhaps they traced it to the MAC address of the computer. Well, maybe you left your dorm room door open. Maybe your roommate used your computer. Maybe you stepped out for a coffee while at the library and someone used it. Maybe your laptop got "stolen" and you are not sure of its whereabouts.

Maybe a jealous ex-gf put a keylogger on your computer to steal your passwords so she could read your emails, found out you like men and decided to screw you over by downloading some shitty movies.

Its most likely a Russian commando from the cyber warlord division stealing your pw under orders from high command so they could create a frivolous lawsuit that would gain national attention, destroying the people's trust in justice and ensuring the demise of our country from within.

You see what I'm getting at?

I went out of my way to write all this in an effort to show you how fucking stupid these things are. If this ever amounted to anything you could fire back a different response regarding the possibility of any of the above actually happening. The lawyers and those they represent wouldn't recover a dime, even at the billable rate of cheap Saul Goodman.

The lesson to be learned here is that if you live on campus you should keep your nose clean. For Christ's sake you could be thrown out of student housing for having a microwave in your dorm room yet alone breaking the law.

Worth checking for free legal advice with your university. My school has free legal advice and services through our law school.

Damn Bic.

SFW:

http://yablew.it/

You just admitted to it. Thanks for playing. Holy shit man lol.

Just because you deleted it doesn't mean you didn't "download / steal" it. loololol. holy shit.

You aren't in trouble for having it. You're in trouble for downloading it. And you just admitted it.

Darwinism

bic, maybe you should exercise a minimum level of common sense and not do such risky shit in the first place. suck it up, pay the fine, learn from your mistakes and move on.