London lawyers boast of game-sharing crackdown

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 14 Jul 2008 at 18:47

A firm of London lawyers claims it's "stepping up the fight" against people who illegally share computer games.

We revealed in May how legal firm Davenport Lyons was demanding in excess of £600 from people accused of illegally sharing a single game.

At the time, Davenport Lyons refused to discuss the issue with PC Pro. Now it's hired PR agency Bell Pottinger Business & Brand to trumpet its crackdown.

The firm says it will launch proceedings against 100 people from the UK "suspected of illegally uploading a number of copyright works."

It further claims "several thousand names and addresses have already been ordered by the High Court of London to be released by the internet providers concerned" and that another application waiting to be issued is demanding an additional 6,000 addresses.

Until now, there has been precious little evidence that Davenport Lyons was prepared to follow through on its demands for payment if accused file-sharers refused to pay up (read our investigation here).

However, the company claims a recent decision at the Central London County Court resulted in four people being ordered to make an interim payment of £750 and pay costs, in advance of a final judgement. PC Pro has been so far unable to verify these claims.

Daveport Lyons' clients include Topware, makers of Dream Pinball 3D, and German game company Zuxxex.