Quote:
Originally Posted by MarjaE
I don't see how a civil suit would accomplish that.
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It easily can, at least anywhere in the EU. Unless US law is broken, it's true there too. "Facilitating copyright violation" carries bigger penalties most places than actual copies.
Also there is a misconception about Civil vs Criminal law.
Criminal: Usually the maximum and sometimes minimum tariffs are set in law, the Jury or Judge can't easily undercut or exceed any jail term or fine. The victim may get nothing. The State or agents of the State decide if a prosecution is to be brought.
Civil: The victim(s) have to bring a case. The judge and/or jury decide the penalty, which need not be limited to proven damages, but potential damages. There is no minimum or maximum. If the case is judged to be technically a violation, but regarded as malicious or whatever a damages of 1c could be assigned with the supposed "victim" having to pay costs of both parties. OTH, if the transgressor is shown to be wilful and setting out to ultimately destroy the victim (I'm thinking not just copyright), then the transgressor could have to pay both parties costs and have all assets and enabling "equipment" seized.
In a case like this they don't have to prove historic losses.
See cable TV piracy. Usually there is a Criminal law, Theft of Service. In Ireland that might be a maximum of €5000 and 6 months jail. However the providers (Liberty Global, Sky etc and the rights holders supplying them such as Disney, F1, Premiership, Fox, Nat Geo etc) usually persuade the DPP NOT to bring a Criminal case. They sue. Civil law.
1) Private individual: They pay monthly rental, back dated to when they moved in or last had a contract. Usually that's settled before Court.
2) Pub or similar public venue. They pay about 20x as much per set box. They haggle in court and agree a compromise.
3) Someone selling cable set-boxes, card sharing or other systems to enable pubs or individuals to commit piracy (copyright violation). A judge, or often a jury sets the penalty. A small one man outfit is typically "fined" €100,000, pays all parties costs and has all electronics gear seized. Bigger pirate operators can have all assets seized. Unlike a criminal case, the "victims" get the fine.
So IA is in category 3. That's why the publishers want a jury trial. You'd think Satellite or Cable PAY TV theft of service is fairly victimless. Indeed, for an individual, the "fine" is pretty much what they might have paid. They get off lightly. The commercial outfit enabling the Piracy gets hit as hard as possible, because they are attacking the existence of the platform. Pay TV operators in Italy actually went out of business due to piracy. It's a story for another day as to who funded it.
So the publishers will concentrate on how that the author chooses to sell their work or mysteriously live on air (dole?) and offer it free, not IA. How IA are destroying the livelihood of living authors and dissuading people from becoming authors. Issues of the Publishers own predatory actions, or letting material go out of print, or actual damages won't come into it. And they shouldn't.
I know authors and most are absolutely appalled. "Whataboutism" by IA isn't going to curry favour with the Jury. IA nor anyone other than the author can't decide to make stuff free that isn't free, even if the damages are low.