Topware Interactive has won over £16,000 in damages and costs from a British woman responsible for illegally sharing their Dream Pinball 3D game out over public file-sharing (P2P) networks. The London Patents County Court ruling follows a number of similar successes by the same developer in previous months (
news).
David Gore, a partner at Davenport Lyons, the Mayfair based solicitors acting on behalf of Topware, issued the following statement to
BBC News Online :
"The damages and costs ordered by the Court are significant and should act as a deterrent. This shows that taking direct steps against infringers is an important and effective weapon in the battle against online piracy. This is the first of many," said Mr Gore. "It was always intended that there would be a lot more."
Topware and Davenport Lyons are still known to have the details for "thousands" of suspected illegal file-sharers, which were obtained following a successful legal action against 18 ISPs, which forced them to reveal the information last year.
The solicitor has once again reiterated its ambition to go after all of those involved, although many have been given the option of paying a £300 "
settlement" figure to head off further legal action. Typically those that refuse, such as the individual noted in this news piece, are often taken to court.
Since then the industry has begun a radical new process to tackle online piracy, which presently involves six of the UK's largest ISPs issuing those suspected of illegal file-sharing with warning notices (
news). However, this does not prevent the possibility of legal action by other firms, though the sheer economics of such a process often limit its scope.