p2pnet.net News InterView:- Following the March 15, 2005 report in The Register that the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America is suing Alexander Hanff, a UK citizen and owner of BitTorrent tracker DVDR-Core on the grounds that he was “helping people download copyrighted films via P2P technology”, six days later on March 21, 2005 , The Register reported the MPAA was suing a second UK man, Kevin Reid, the owner of Bds-Palace. The MPAA claims “significant” numbers of pirate movies were made available through his site”.

What’s interesting here is that while BOTH websites’ servers were located in the US, the two men are UK citizens who live in the UK.

The MPAA is threatening to name them both in lawsuits filed in the states, claiming they’re, “subject to the jurisdiction of the United State federal court by virtue of, “engaging in BitTorrent activities through a US Internet Service Provider, among other reasons”.

Both Hanff and Reid have retained lawyer David Harris, an expert on intellectual property and IT issues. Harris is with the law firm UKITLaw.com.

I was fortunate to have had the recent opportunity to interview Kevin Reid, and Harris facilitated interviews with both men for these p2pnet articles. I’d like to thank them very much for the opportunity.

I’ll be interviewing Alexander Hanff in the near future and the results will appear on p2pnet as well.

Everyone is anxious to set the record straight and clear up any misconceptions which have been reported or blogged about elsewhere.

Below is Part I, my exclusive conversation with Kevin Reid.

Read on >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Catflap: What are your views on filesharing films, tv shows, music, audio, etc.? Does buying, renting, or borrowing from a library a retail dvd, cd, etc. give a person the right to be able to copy and share them with whomever, and however, they like, if they like? Or for their own personal use as a backup copy?

Reid: Filesharing is perfectly legal as we all know. But when it comes to the sharing of copyright merchandise this is when it is illegal – as we all know. But when it comes to BitTorrent, then this is a different matter. I have no idea how a hash file can be deemed illegal but we will soon find out their stance on what they actually think is illegal. I still think they do not understand the (BitTorrent) protocol fully.

Catflap: “Is filesharing copyright material really illegal”? Would you say (your personal opinion) that if it’s being done, then it isn’t illegal if money or services are not being exchanged, and falls into the category of “Fair Use Rights” laws which are on the books in many countries?

Reid: It is unlawful and there haven’t been, as far as I’m aware, any UK P2P court cases so far. In the UK, fair dealing (similar to fair use) wouldn’t be a defence.

I personally think if you’ve ’spent your own money on a DVD or a music CD, then you have the right to make a backup – as how many of us have DVD’s now that do not work as they are scratched? If we were allowed to make backup copies of these, we wouldn’t need to go back out and buy it and fill Hollywood’s already fat pockets again.

Catflap: Are films and audio different than tv programs, in that tv programs are free to all who have terrestrial/cable/satellite access to them, and people have been “allowed” to record and copy them for decades, whereas the ability to copy dvds and cds is relatively recent?

Reid: TV shows should definitely be free to d/l via the internet. If the TV stations made the shows available and they had adverts in them, then I see no harm in this as they’re reaching an even wider network of viewers. But the adverts would need to be aimed internationally, obviously. I see the TV shows being available for d/l by this time next year.

Catflap: I understand your tracker’s servers were located in the USA. Why did you decide to have them hosted there in the homeland of the MPAA and RIAA, when there are other locations available?

Reid: Because I had no reason to hide the fact of what my site was doing.

Catflap: I’ve noticed you’re posting the info to your legal defense fund account on your website. Do you have any idea how much money you’ll need?

Reid: We don’t know how much is needed at the moment, due to the fact we don’t have any idea how long or how far the case will go. But I’m sure this will become clearer in the coming months.

Catflap: Since you have the same lawyer, do Bds-Palace and DVDR-core share the same defense fund?

Reid: No. We’ll have separate funds.

Catflap: And are they separate cases, or will they be litigated together?

Reid: As for now, these are two separate cases. How they’ll be dealt with in future, I don’t know.

Catflap: Will the case be heard in a UK a US court? Or both?

Reid: We only at the moment expect it to be heard in the US, but we welcome the chance to fight it in the UK if the opportunity arises.

Catflap: You say you won’tsettle out of court or use any of the money from the defense fund towards a settlement. Obviously, the LokiTorrent sellout has made many filesharers suspicious of tracker owners, and made the MPAA and RIAA more courageous. And of course, it’s put you in this terrible position.

You must surely realize (since the Loki sellout and secrecy surrounding it) that if your legal expenses are not publicly shown, whether or not you settle out of court people will want – demand – to know how much money you collected and where the money went.

Will you provide the relevant financial details on your website so that anyone can see it?

Reid: Yes, we will provide this info when the time comes. As of now I personally, as far as I know, have received nothing. I’m only getting money from banner clicks on the site. A lot of people have mentioned on various websites about the Loki situation and how we will go about getting donations and safe-guarding them. This is the reason my lawyer has set up a defence fund himself so it goes straight to him and I cannot then settle out of court or disappear with the money.

Catflap: If you can’t pay your legal bills, what will you do? What CAN you do?

Reid: There isn’t much I can do.

Catflap: Is there any possibility that your lawyers will handle the case “Pro Bono”?

Reid: My lawyer is handling this case Pro Bono.

Catflap: So why do you need a defense fund?

Reid: There needs to be provision for court costs and expenses, witness fees, etc. The lawyers costs are only one part of this. And it *may* be the case that the US lawyer won’t do his bit for free.

Catflap: Would the lawyers consider some kind of “class action” type of suit to defend other UK-based trackers, filesharers, etc., in order to offset the cost for you?

Reid: There’s no chance for a class action suit in the circumstances of the case.

Catflap: Do you have any idea when your case might reach a court – if at all? Either in the UK or the USA?

Reid: At the moment we don’t have a timescale on this.

Catflap: If you go to court and you lose, you’ll probably be faced with hefty fines and possible restrictions on your personal/professional internet usage. Is there a possibility of you going to prison?

Reid: No there isn’t a chance of prison. This is a civil case and not a criminal one. If I lose then the court will award damages.

Catflap: Will you appeal any decision against you?

Reid: I don’t expect to lose but if I do then yes, we will appeal it.

Catflap: Will you move your servers to a different location?

Reid: My hosting is staying where it is. I’m not breaking any law. I’m not hosting any BitTorrent material at the moment, but this may change in the near future as I have a few ideas but haven’t had time to actually do anything about them.

Catflap: Kevin, the mainstream media portrays filesharers and BitTorrent tracker owners as dangerous, hardened criminals. We know this isn’t true. They don’t treat you like human beings. And once they’ve reported that, they move on to other things and never take the opportunity to interview the real victims like yourself and Alexander Hanff.

But to us, you’re not just a name on a website or lawsuit. So tell us something about yourself.

Reid: I’m a computer networks student which I’ve been doing for the last two years. I live with my girlfriend and my son. I don;t own my own house so I have no property that can be used to generate money if I lose the case.

The reason I started a website was a hobby that just grew and grew till it took up most of my free time. At the moment I’m just taking it easy, but in future I don’t know what it holds. We may start up again – we don’t know. But I’m sure we’ll let you know if we do.

At moment the site is open for people to keep up to date on the case and to find out other filesharing news that we think is newsworthy.

Catflap: Thank you very much for all of your time, Kevin. We’re certainly behind you 100%. I know p2pnet and the rest of the filesharing community will be watching the case very closely.

And now a special message from me to the MPAA – catflap:

===================

<-----I'll back my files up soon as I find reverse----->

Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net

See:-
Federal Court ruling – Keep on swapping! Cdn file sharers told, p2pnet, March 31, 2004
an offer they can’t refuse – File sharing, p2p criminals, p2pnet, March 12, 2005

This entry was posted on Friday, March 25th, 2005 at 3:26 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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