Sky hands over broadband customer details to anti-piracy lawyers
Sky Broadband customers who illegally downloaded a Robert Redford film The Company You Keep may now face legal action after the media giant handed over their details to US legal firm TCYK, an apparent abbreviation of the film in question.
Affected customers are now literally seeing red after being asked to pay a financial settlement or risk legal action after the firm won a court order obliging Sky Broadband to hand over the details of customers who had downloaded the film.
It is the latest in a spate of such claims as copyright holders adopt a more aggressive stance to defend their content from illegal distribution although some have questioned whether the threats carry any weight, noting that the onus is on the copyright owner to link the illegal download to a specific IP address, not to mention that the current bill payer is the individual who initiated the download in the first place.
Commenting on the case Sky said in a statement; “Sky said: “TCYK LLC successfully applied for a court order against Sky. This means that we were required, by law, to supply TCYK LLC with the details of account holders that matched the list of IP addresses that they had identified.
“We have written to all affected customers advising them carefully to read the letter from TCYK LLC and if they want any further help to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau.”
The Company You Keep was produced by Voltage Pictures, producer of the Hurt Locker and Dallas Buyers Club, which has previously taken a lead on such cases.