📰 New article from TorrentFreak
Filmmakers and ISP WOW! Settle Piracy Liability Lawsuit Before Trial
https://torrentfreak.com/filmmakers-and-isp-wow-settle-piracy-liability-lawsuit-before-trial/
The legal high-stakes poker game between Hollywood and internet providers just ended with a quiet handshake rather than a dramatic courtroom showdown.
For three years, a group of heavy-hitting film studios—including Millennium Media and Voltage Pictures—have been suing ISP WOW! in Colorado. The accusation? That the provider essentially looked the other way while its subscribers treated digital piracy like a free buffet. With claims expanded to cover 375 films, the potential damage bill was hovering around a staggering $56 million.
The whole case hinged on a “safe harbor” technicality: Did WOW! actually follow its own rules to kick off repeat pirates, or was its policy just paper tiger? A judge recently ruled that the evidence was too messy for a quick decision, leaving the winner undecided… until both sides decided they’d had enough.
Instead of heading to a jury, the parties settled and dismissed the case. While the “settlement” amount remains a mystery, the real story is the legal landscape. Thanks to recent Supreme Court precedents, it’s now much harder for studios to sue ISPs unless they can prove the provider actually intended to help people pirate. It seems the era of massive, easy wins for copyright holders might be cooling off.