Niteshdw to settle and Isohunt to fight the MPAA
It’s almost a month after the MPAA targeted 5 of the bigger torrent sites. In the meanwhile Isohunt has been planning to fight the MPAA and is currently raising money to do so. Niteshdw on the other hand doesn’t have the money to fight and tries to settle without taking too much damage. The official [...]
It’s almost a month after the MPAA targeted 5 of the bigger torrent sites. In the meanwhile Isohunt has been planning to fight the MPAA and is currently raising money to do so. Niteshdw on the other hand doesn’t have the money to fight and tries to settle without taking too much damage.
The official press release states that the MPAA targeted Isohunt, Torrentspy, Torrentbox, BThub and Niteshdw.
Niteshdw decided that settling was the best option:
I’ve now official retained a lawyer from Madson & Austin here in Salt Lake City. The goal is to settle the case with the most favorable outcome for both parties.
While some of you may be disappointed, or just plain angry, at my decision to settle, I hope you can at least appreciate my reasons.
First, I do not have the funds necessary to fight a prolonged legal battle. NiteShdw.com was never about making money. I wanted a place where science fiction fans could come together and enjoy their favorite shows together by discussing them together. If I am unable to obtain a satisfactory settlement, I always have the option to continue with litigation, even if I have to do so pro se
Second, my first priority is to my family and especially my 8 month old daughter. As a father my priority is to provide for her before anyone else.
In my negociations, I am trying to propose a business plan to the MPAA and/or its members. I want to take this lawsuit as an opportunity to share with them what we as consumers want and how they can actually make money from it rather than push us away. People have freely donated to help NiteShdw.com pay for its server costs. That proves that people are willing to pay to get the TV shows they want when and how they want them.
Gary from Isohunt on the other hand is not willing to settle and fights back. I asked him some questions about the pending case:
TorrentFreak: What is the exact nature of the accusation?
Isohunt: That the sole purpose of isohunt.com and torrentbox.com is to infringe on MPAA’s copyrights.
TorrentFreak: What are your counterarguments, why is the mpaa wrong according to you?
Isohunt: Because we process copyright takedown requests daily, and have done so for hundreds of requests in the past, if not thousands. We work with all copyright owners, and even the RIAA email us routinely. The MPAA is the only organization unwilling to cooperate with us. It’s unfortunate, because we respect copyrights.
TorrentFreak: Who are you teaming up with to fight the MPAA
Isohunt: The EFF, other sites being sued, and a top-notch lawyer specialized in internet copyrights.
TorrentFreak: You say you’re opening a legal defense fund, is this going to be a fund for this case only, or a torrent search engine fund in general. Monitored by the EFF for example. (think lokitorrent)
Isohunt: Only for us at this point, possibly another fund that extends to other parties. We’ll look into whether the EFF can help in acting as a sort of Escrow for trust assurance. But what’s different already between us and Lokitorrent is that a lawsuit has already been filed against us. Lokitorrent didn’t.
TorrentFreak: Is there anything we can do to help apart from donating money?
Isohunt: Bad publicity against the MPAA. It’s one thing we can really use against them in our negotiation. We need people to know our stance, and that it is the MPAA who is wrong here. And we can because it’s true. So spread the word!
TorrentFreak: Ok, the MPAA sucks, spread the word people…
