A Kentucky woman is suing a group of pornography producers for extortion after they sued her alleging that she violated their copyrights by illegally downloading adult movies with BitTorrent software. From Ars Technica: Barker had heard nothing about any lawsuit; indeed, she said that she had never downloaded pornography from the 'Net and had no idea what this "BitTorrent" even was. Hansen nevertheless wanted a payment; if none was forthcoming, Barker might well find herself facing up to $150,000 in damages under US copyright law. And her name might be publicly linked with pornography. Barker refused to pay, so Hansen called back, allegedly leaving multiple voicemails and even calling Barker at work. Barker, fed up, believed she was being extorted. She went out and found a local Kentucky lawyer, Kenneth Henry of Louisville, and together they devised a legal strategy to fight back.Barker's attorney, Kenneth Henry, has built a case that essentially accuses the pornographers of being copyright trolls. Once they obtain contact information, the pornography purveyors begin to shakedown these individuals by telephone. The tactics of the pornography purveyors clearly indicate that they are not convinced that the individuals they accuse of downloading pornography from the Internet have actually done so. This is true because they often shake the individuals down for $1,000-$5,000. The pornography purveyors know that this amount of money is less than the cost of defense would be if suit were filed. They also know that individuals such as the Plaintiff in this matter are embarrassed to have their names associated with pornography, and therefore, are susceptible to being shaken down...Here's the whole story, which is making the rounds online this week.
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