Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal

Dutch group targets Kickasser with potential €2000 a day fine

By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 18 February 2016

Dutch anti-piracy organisation BREIN is taking a short breather from targeting the people who operate file-sharing hubs, or distribute file-sharing software, and is instead targeting some file-sharers direct. Though at this stage only really prolific file-sharers.

Now, legal proceedings against individual file-sharers generally achieved little in the early days of the fight against online piracy, apart from running up legal costs and giving everyone more reasons to hate major record companies and big movie studios. The damages won were limited, record numbers of files continued to be shared without licence, and the high profile litigation didn’t seem to create much of a deterrent to discourage other file-sharers.

But BREIN reckons that by targeting a small number of prolific uploaders – who pump large quantities of music and movies onto the file-sharing networks – the direct litigation approach is worthwhile. Though it remains to be seen if the latest legal action proves to be much of a deterrent, because even if it stops prolific uploaders from uploading, there’s normally others willing to take their place the as feeders-in-chief of the file-sharing world.

Either way, the legal approach BREIN has taken is interesting. According to Torrentfreak, rather than simply suing the suspected uploader for copyright infringement, and seeking damages, the anti-piracy group got itself an injunction from the Dutch courts which says that, if the targeted file-sharer – a Kickass uploader who goes by the online ID Reinrox – continues to upload, they’ll face a daily fine of €2000, up to €50,000.

This was enough to persuade the uploader, whose real identity BREIN ascertained, to sign a cease and desist agreement, delete their Kickass account, and promise to not start file-sharing again on another site or under a different identity. The court agreed to grant such an injunction based on BREIN’s claims regarding the scale of Reinrox’s uploading and the negative impact that has on the content owners the group represents.

Explaining that this injunction process has proven more effective than other forms of file-sharer litigation, BREIN told the court: “An ex-parte court order re-inforced with a penalty gives those whose rights have been violated the greatest possible assurance that this will not happen again”.

Which is probably true. And it probably won’t happen again. In that Reinrox may well stop file-sharing. Though what impact such action has in the wider scheme of things remains to be seen, and may depend on how many uploaders BREIN can identify and how readily the courts will issue orders of this kind.