File-sharing ACS Law solicitor suspended. By Nicole Kobie Posted on 16 Jan 2012 at 17:17 A lawyer has been suspended from his trade and charged costs of more than £70,000 over a file-sharing case.
Andrew Crossley, the sole solicitor of the now defunct ACS Law, was banned from practising law for two years and charged costs at a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in London today. Crossley's firm infamously sent letters to alleged illegal file-sharers on behalf of a pornography rights firm, demanding recipients pay hundreds of pounds to avoid going to court, as part of what has since come to be called "speculative invoicing". However, none of the cases went to full trial, with Crossley himself successfully shutting down 17 cases that did end up in court. His firm was attacked online, with his website knocked down and email database leaked, leading to a charge from the Information Commissioner's Office.
Crossley declined to comment when contacted by PC Pro. ACS:Law and overstated proof. February 09, 2011 | Peter Bradwell Yesterday afternoon saw the latest twist in the protracted story of ACS:Law.
They have been engaged in a campaign to intimidate and extort money from thousands of people with little evidence and even less proper due process. Last week, with their flimsy cases facing scrutiny in court, ACS:Law wound themselves up, disappearing in a puff of smoke like cartoon villains. But Judge Birss, of the Patents County Court, insisted that the cases must continue. ACS:Law Judgment Has Serious Implications for Digital Economy Act. Yesterday, Judge Birss QC at the Patents County Court delivered his judgment in the copyright infringement hearing which featured ACS:Law, copyright troll client MediaCAT and 27 alleged file-sharers.
While Birss was damning of the process from start to finish, some of key issues he raised could have serious implications for the UK's Digital Economy Act. The battle against ACS:Law, MediaCAT and other companies previously involved in developing the so-called Speculative Invoicing model in the UK, has been fought on many fronts. A key group that has championed the rights of the innocent caught in the dragnet, and indeed introduced the term ‘Speculative Invoicing’ to the legal landscape, is BeingThreatened.com. This compact and highly resourceful team have worked tirelessly to protect innocent members of the public from the predatory tactics we have read so much about lately.
Anonymous DDoS attack takes out Ministry of Sound. Anonymous is at it again.
This time, the vigilante hacking group has launched DDos attacks at law firm Gallant Macmillian's website and site operated by the Ministry of Sound (MOS). ACS:Law gets more of copyright fines than rights holders. ACS:Law, the controversial London-based solicitors' firm involved in making copyright claims, keeps about 40% of the payments made by alleged filesharers, while rights holders receive between 20% and 30%, research by the Guardian has revealed.
For a typical letter demanding £300 as settlement for the allegation of filesharing, the record company would get between £60 and £90, while ACS:Law would retain £120. The rest would go to pay the companies which find the alleged filesharers, and to pay internet service providers to hand over data. According to figures leaked online, and information from industry sources, approximately 10% of net revenue that comes from people who pay on receiving the letters is paid to the company that tracks down the IP addresses of suspected illicit filesharers. Gallant MacMillan to follow ACS:Law route … Following on the catastrophic leak of data and ongoing scandal arising from ACS:Law case – astonishingly, another London based copyright lawyer, Gallant MacMillan – who represent The Ministry of Sound – is set to pursue exactly the same course as ACS:Law at The High Court, London, in just 4 days time – on October 4th.
In an astonishing show of legal arrogance, mounted against the UK public’s current outrage that thousands of their names and addresses were “leaked” – along with details of sordid pornographic videos they were supposed to have shared online – one would have thought that Gallant MacMillan and their right’s holders – could have at least waited until the furore died down.
But alas, it seems not … PlusNet are likely to fight this up-coming action tooth-and-nail, so if you are a PlusNet customer – give them your support – request that they at least INFORM YOU before they release your own personal data, even if the release is subject to a Court Order. ACS:Law: This is what regulatory failure looks like. So, the ACS:Law email leak is the gift that keeps on giving as reports have come out of more unsecured sensible data included in Andrew Crossley’s emails.
While I have expressed that I generally disagree with vigilante justice, for some reason the words chickens, home, and roost keep coming up in my mind. I am both excited and horrified by the amount of information that is now available to the public as a result of ACS:Law’s mind-blowing negligence and incompetence. Obviously I am horrified because thousands of people are having their financial and personal details compromised, particularly by tying their names to porn films and other objectionable content and practices.
But at the same time I am quite simply giggling with delight at the irony of it all. I cannot help but feel sorry for the victims. Further that, the Act specifies that the level of security must be proportional to the potential damage if the data is lost. BT and Sky ISPs drawn into ACS:Law data breach - 9/29/2010. Leading internet service providers BT and Sky have been drawn into the storm surrounding a data breach at ACS:Law, a law firm that sent dunning letters to thousands of alleged illegal file-sharers.
ACS:Law faces legal action and a potential £500,0000 fine after the personal details of people it accused of downloading files illegally appeared on the Pirate Bay file sharing site. But the details were supplied by Sky and BT, who asked the law firm to keep them confidential. According to reports, at least 8,000 Sky ,500 BT customers and another 5,000 Britons were exposed by the Pirate Bay files. According to Privacy International, the personal details were exposed when ACS:Law rebooted its website following a distributed denial of service attack by 4Chan, a file-sharing collective.
ACS:Law had sent dunning letters to thousands of people it identified after it found IP addresses linked to them were used to download files. Some who received the letters complained to Which? Email Alerts. Full links to ACS Law leaked emails: BREAKING NEWS: Andrew Crossley's arrogance, greed finally gets the better of him. ACS:Law faces possible fines after 4Chan snags unprotected private data - National Technology. 4 chan Attacks May Cause BT, ACS:Law, Legal Troubles. ACS:Law: Pervert lawyers asked for names, ages of KIDS! Total invasion of privacy!
Questionnaire Regarding Third Party Infringements Subscriber: Anthony XXXXXXXX Reference Number: M2DA1086XXXX Date of Infringement: 08/08/2009 File Sharing Client: uTorrent IP Address: 86.xxx.xxx.56 ISP which linked IP Address to Subscriber: BT 1) Please confirm that you are the owner of the internet connection, and/or are responsible for paying the bill. □ I am the owner of the internet connection . □ I pay the bill . □ If you are not the owner of the internet connection, or if you do not pay the bill, what is your relationship with the bill payer?
Are you taking responsibility for the infringement? 2) Was your internet connection secured or unsecured? What ISPs should do about the likes of ACS:Law. September 29, 2010 | Jim Killock What BT, Sky and other ISPs should do about the likes of ACS:Law Open Rights Group spoke to BT today, and has requested a meeting with Sky to discuss how they handle future applications for people’s data when they are thought to be infringing copyright.
We think there are three things that ISPs can do: 1 Oppose all applications for {Norwich Pharmacal orders” (NPOs). These are the requests that require ISPs to disclose the identity of clients to companies like ACS:Law. 2 ISPs should in every case, whether contested or not, insist on full public disclosure of evidential methods in court before NPOs are released 3 As we know that, even with accurate monitoring, most of the claims will be directed at an innocent party, customers should be informed that they can legitimately defend themselves before they receive accusations. ACS:Law and the Norwich Pharmacal Orders. As one of the first news websites to break the ACS:Law copyright extortion and data leak scandal ( see here ) currently engulfing the UK – we might just have a little more than most.
And over the coming few days, WIREDVC fully intends to use it: read on …. So how was Andrew Crossley , now undoubtedly the #1 scum lawyer in the UK – extracting all those names and addresses from the average Internet user’s service provider (ISP?) We go back to 1974, when The Norwich Pharmacal Co. was having trouble with their patented furazolidone antibacterial compound. ACS:Law leak ‘shows weakness of Digital Economy Act’ The data breach which has exposed the names, addresses and credit card details of 8,000 internet users accused of illegally downloading pornography shows the ‘flaws’ in the Digital Economy Act, say privacy campaigners.
The majority of people on the list are Sky internet users being pursued by solicitors at ACS:Law for allegedly infringing copyright. The law firm has identified alleged infringers by collating the internet protocol (IP) addresses of the computers used to illegally share files, and then getting a court order to force internet service providers to hand over the details of the individuals to whom those IP addresses are registered. “It is clear that IP addresses are unlikely to ‘prove’ copyright infringement” said Jim Killock, head of the Open Rights Group, which campaigns for online freedom. “Organisations have been arguing that the evidence is reliable. It is, however, merely circumstantial.” London law firm may pay dearly for pornography.
The "legal blackmail" business: inside a P2P settlement factory. UK pornographer Jasper Feversham was fed up.
The Internets were sharing his films, quality work like Catch Her in the Eye, Skin City, and MILF Magic 3. He wanted revenge—or at least a cut. So Feversham signed on to a relatively new scheme: track down BitTorrent infringers, convert their IP addresses into real names, and blast out warning letters threatening litigation if they didn't cough up a few hundred quid.
"Much looking forward to sending letters to these f—ers," he wrote in an email earlier this year. Newsbeat - 'My details appeared on 'porn' list' Claire says there is no way she or her partner downloaded pornography Personal details of 8,000 people it's claimed have downloaded porn or shared music illegally have been leaked onto the internet. BT embroiled in ACS:Law porn list. ACS Law hacking a text-book case that exposes several weaknesses - Read all about IT! Law firm could face £500,000 fine over data breach. Fresh ACS:Law file-sharing lists expose thousands more. 28 September 2010Last updated at 12:50 By Daniel Emery Technology reporter, BBC News. Thousands more exposed on ACS:Law file-sharing lists. Sky internet 'porn' details leaked: Users' personal information appears online. View topic - Official ACS:LAW/Davenport-Lyons lawsuit letter discussion. Hadopi.fr piraté? - infoshirt sur LePost.fr.
Privacy group takes on ACS:Law over porn data breach. ACS:Law, which has conducted a letter-writing campaign against people suspected of unlawful file-sharing, is facing legal action by Privacy International after those people's details were leaked during a security breach. List of porn pirates leaked on to internet. ACS:Law Anti-Piracy Law Firm Torn Apart By Leaked Emails. Earlier this week, anti-piracy lawyers ACS:Law had their website taken down by a 4chan DDoS attack. Adding insult to injury, owner Andrew Crossley was harassed at home in the middle of the night by prank phone calls. Now, through a fault with his website, hundreds of megabytes of private emails have been exposed to the public and uploaded to The Pirate Bay.
Anti-Piracy Firm Accidentally Releases Emails. Pirate Party spokespeople are always ready to give a lively, informed, and often provocative view on the issues of the day. Whether it's tech politics, civil liberties, the EU, local issues or anything else we'll have something to say. For interview requests, specific statements or quotes, or to automatically receive press releases email the Press Office at press@pirateparty.org.uk or call us on 0161 987 7880.
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