I'm reading more about this. Some comments:
"The MPAA prompted the courts to decide that they have to take the trial to the state in which the person committed the illegal downloading, which is one of the reasons the copyright suits slowed down. I don't think Funi's going to get away with demanding all these people come to them." (Funimation filed this lawsuit in the Texas courts, meaning that it might only affect people in Texas and everyone else will get thrown out and Funimation will have to file separate lawsuits for other states, which gets expensive.)
">All the downloads occurred on 1/9 or later
>My face when I downloaded that torrent on 1/8."
"Q: How was copper wiring created?
A: Two Funimation Execs fighting for a penny."
Apparently also, the suit is for the total of 150,000 dollars, which roughly breaks down to about 112 dollars a person would have to pay if they were found guilty. If the suit held for all 1337 people, which as stated, probably won't happen because of the whole only suing in Texas thing.
Also, DDLs aren't even on there, as tracing downloaders through Megaupload and Mediafire is a bit more involved. So the lesson here is if you're downloading a licensed series, use direct download, not torrents. And the funny thing is, most people who are scared by this ARE going to start using direct downloads. And that's not even counting the people who torrent and use an IP masking program of some sort.
Yeah. I really don't see this going anywhere. Just scare tactics, they may frighten away a few people who are new to computers and paranoid, but most people are just going to go "Pssh whatever" and life goes on. It's really a pointless gesture, and can only serve to turn fans against them. But, hey, their right I suppose.
EDIT:
Ad revenue from the sponsors of the simulcast.
Unless I'm mistaken, the ads don't work on a "you get paid this much if someone views an ad" thing. I was pretty sure it was like TV advertising, where a company says "We'll pay you money to run our ads during your shows," so the payment is not contingent on a hit counter or number of views. If this is the case, then ad revenue cannot be claimed as damages, because they already got their money for this.
If I'm wrong and the ads on the simulcast DO work on a "per view" basis, then okay, that's legitimate. Otherwise, nope.
Let's set aside moral questions. I know Funi is legally in the right, but the timing just makes it seem like they are looking for a punching bag or at least an easy target in order to curry favor with team Fractale..
