The ongoing battle against online piracy has reached a new high (or low, depending on your perspective): on the one hand, Warner Bros. has been taking the progressive step of pursuing compensatory, rather than punitive, damages from parties it believes has illegally downloaded its content since 2013 but, on the other hand, they're pursuing said damages — of $US20 (about $26) — for an episode of Friends that aired in 1995.
Of course, the fact the episode in question — The One With Five Steaks & An Eggplant — aired 20 years ago is legally irrelevant, but nonetheless noteworthy as, according to TorrentFreak, "this is the first time that we've seen people being targeted for downloading content that's more than 20 years old".
As TorrentFreak reports, an anonymous user received a notice from a company called Rightscorp, which represents Warner Bros. (as well as BMG, among other clients), accusing them of pirating the episode and offering them the chance to pay a one-time penalty of $US20 and promise to never, ever do it again in order to prevent further action being pursued.
"Although WB understands and appreciates that you are a fan of its content, the unauthorized uploading and downloading of its copyrighted content is a serious matter," the missive read.
"Your ISP service could be suspended if this matter is not resolved. You could also be liable for substantial civil penalties for copyright infringement."
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The notice goes on to advise the user that they have the opportunity to pay $US20 per infringement via an automated system that will bestow them with "a legal release from the copyright owner, WB".
"As part of the settlement, you will agree to cease and desist from the unauthorized copying and/or distribution of WB content, including over the Internet from your computer," the notice said.
"The damage to WB from your conduct substantially exceeds $20, but in the interest of having you stop your infringement of WB content permanently, WB is prepared to make you this settlement offer."
However, as Gawker points out, The One With Five Steaks & An Eggplant — not to mention pretty much every other episode Friends put out during its 10-year run — is readily available for substantially less than $US20, which reduces the nobility of the offer somewhat.
Several users singled out by Rightscorp seem to agree, too — a couple of months ago, the company faced a class-action lawsuit from a number of users who claimed the company had, among other things, "engaged in telephone harassment and abuse; made various false and misleading representations; engaged in unfair collections practices; [and] failed to provide validation and required notices relating to the debts".
Rightscorp have denied the claims.
