CD Projekt Uses Law Firm to Threaten File-Sharers

[dlevere]

CD Projekt Uses Law Firm to Threaten File-Sharers

By James Fudge

A TorrentFreak report asserts that CD Projekt has hired a law firm in Germany to go after those who downloaded DRM-free copies of The Witcher 2 - even as it extolled the virtues of its games being DRM-free. CD Projekt was not available for comment at the time of this writing due to the late hour in its home country of Poland - but we hope to bring you an official response to this story as soon as it becomes available.

The report alleges that the company hired a law firm to go after those who they claim had downloaded the game illegally. As is usually the case with law firms that do this kind of work, they went the “pay-up-or-else” route based on lists of IP addresses they had collected. The problem with this kind of scheme is that IP's don't equal names and just because an IP has been recorded doesn't mean that the legitimate IP owner has actually infringed; for example, someone else could have used their open Wi-Fi connection to download files.

The report goes on to say that letters sent by lawyers representing CD Projekt are demanding those accused of infringement to pay up or face legal action. Over the past several months thousands of alleged BitTorrent users in Germany were asked to pay upwards of $1,230 to make amends for their crimes, according to the report.

We'll continue to follow this story as it develops.

 

[dragonbird]

I saw the articles earlier today, and it left a nasty taste in my mouth. I really, really hope that there's a good explanation for this. Piracy's bad, but copyright trolls are just plain evil.

 

[227]

Wasn't that the plan all along? At the very least I know they mentioned that they would be watching the torrents, so anyone who got caught up in this kind of had it coming. I mean, being sure to only take things when people aren't looking is a fundamental component of stealing. Doing it while they're watching is just... yeah.

The whole concept of making back some cash on the backs of those who stole it is stupid, though. It didn't work for the music industry, and it's not going to work for them. That's not to mention the fact that some people had such serious problems when the game first came out that they went out and pirated it just to be able to play the game they had bought. Somewhere in Poland, a PR team is sitting in a bar, openly weeping. This is a ticking PR time bomb.

 

[username_3236168]

i think this is a great step in what they have done!
4.5 Million pirates copies

Pirates need to fear illegal downloads, tbh that $1,230 isn't that much, thinking of how many games the pirates steal over time. This should show that theft has nasty consequences.

Piracy has to stop, it's hurting the developers and gamers, because of pirates we get DRM, because of pirates developers exclude PC's because of pirates the developers loose money and go bust! 13 game studios went down this year, i am not saying piracy did it, but it damn well had a play in it!!!

 

[edk]

If CDP is really doing this and considering the (low) quality of TW2 I might as well ignore the series from now on.
Because an IP always equals a person and there is not such thing as internet (Wi-Fi) sharing, right? How considerate, CDP are indeed very liberal.

 

[username_3236168]

If CDP is really doing this and considering the (low) quality of TW2 I might as well ignore the series from now on.
Because an IP always equals a person and there is not such thing as internet (Wi-Fi) sharing, right? How considerate, CDP are indeed very liberal.

this game received all the awards and outstanding reviews for being low quality

 

[Kris_teh_pwnz]

That can't be true...

 

[gregski]

Well, I just wonder how CDP's PR department is going to handle this.

 

[Kris_teh_pwnz]

Well, I just wonder how CDP's PR department is going to handle this.

If it's true ( I hope it's not!) CDP is done for.

 

[edk]

i just had to do it

 

[227]

i think this is a great step in what they have done!
4.5 Million pirates copies

That number is a rough guesstimate according to that article, and still a pretty good number. 8 out of 10 copies of World of Goo were supposedly pirated and I've heard of companies claiming numbers as bad as 100 pirates for every 3 legitimate copies. It seems pretty common to highball piracy numbers, so comparatively speaking they seem to be doing better than a lot of games.

Pirates need to fear illegal downloads, tbh that $1,230 isn't that much, thinking of how many games the pirates steal over time. This should show that theft has nasty consequences.

Pirates will never, ever fear illegal downloads. They'll fear companies that sue, then they'll get mad, get clever, then find new ways to beat the companies. All of this has happened before in other industries.

The main thing CDPR has is loyalty because of how well they treat their fans. That's literally the only defense against piracy. This could significantly undermine that and end up hurting them in a very big way.

 

[username_3236168]

That number is a rough guesstimate according to that article, and still a pretty good number. 8 out of 10 copies of World of Goo were supposedly pirated and I've heard of companies claiming numbers as bad as 100 pirates for every 3 legitimate copies. It seems pretty common to highball piracy numbers, so comparatively speaking they seem to be doing better than a lot of games.


Pirates will never, ever fear illegal downloads. They'll fear companies that sue, then they'll get mad, get clever, then find new ways to beat the companies. All of this has happened before in other industries.

The main thing CDPR has is loyalty because of how well they treat their fans. That's literally the only defense against piracy. This could significantly undermine that and end up hurting them in a very big way.

I'm just feeling sorry for CDPR and any other great game developers that put effort and time into making games for the gamers to play and they just steal it!!!
DRM does my head in because it hurts legitimate gamers, while having a DRM free game and coming after thief's i got no issue with!

 

[Kris_teh_pwnz]

I'm just feeling sorry for CDPR and any other great game developers that put effort and time into making games for the gamers to play and they just steal it!!!
DRM does my head in because it hurts legitimate gamers, while having a DRM free game and coming after thief's i got no issue with!

Honestly, I don't give a shit about pirates. But just think about how CDP's reputation will be ruined if this news turns out to be true.

 

[tommy5761]

Honestly, I don't give a shit about pirates. But just think about how CDP's reputation will be ruined if this news turns out to be true.

Reputation ruined ? How ?

 

[Kris_teh_pwnz]

Reputation ruined ? How ?

Because using law firms to sue pirates is unfair. You cannot identify a person who stole the game by IP. Plus, many of these "pirates" bought the game afterwards...

 

[tommy5761]

Because using law firms to sue pirates is unfair. You cannot identify a person who stole the game by IP. Plus, many of these "pirates" bought the game afterwards...

Granted you can`t always identify a person with a particular IP . But if small demos were released then some of these people would have no reason to download an entire game just to see if their computer could handle it or see if they like the game .

 

[Kris_teh_pwnz]

Granted you can`t always identify a person with a particular IP . But if small demos were released then some of these people would have no reason to download an entire game just to see if their computer could handle it or see if they like the game .

Right, but there was no demo version, so the whole "Using Law Firm to Threaten File-Sharers" thing is just a dick move imho. I mean, CDP knew what "no DRM philosophy" means, didn't they?

 

[gregski]

Ok, let's just separate two things. One is protecting your IP from theft - which is right and yes, I hope that pirates that steal games will start facing legal and financial consequences.

Second - HOW you protect your IP and CDP - hopefully unintentionally - might face some rage here as it seems the outcome might slip out of their control.

 

[tommy5761]

Right, but there was no demo version, so the whole "Using Law Firm to Threaten File-Sharers" thing is just a dick move imho. I mean, CDP knew what "no DRM philosophy" means, didn't they?

"no DRM philosophy" could mean different things to different people . To me it means that there is nothing either on the disc or legal digital download that would hinder game performance . To you it may mean something else and to CDP it could mean something else entirely .

 

[Kris_teh_pwnz]

Ok, let's just separate two things. One is protecting your IP from theft - which is right and yes, I hope that pirates that steal games will start facing legal and financial consequences.

Second - HOW you protect your IP and CDP - hopefully unintentionally - might face some rage here as it seems the outcome might slip out of their control.

If you ask me, I would never support CDP if I only knew that they are planning to hire a bailiff. Don't get me wrong, I've never pirated any game in my life, but still I feel deceived

@ Tommy - Yes, you're right again, but no DRM means that the game WILL be pirated alot, and I'm sure CDP is aware of that.