HOWTO avoid a copyright shakedown legal threat: be famous, a politician, a cop, a soldier or a corpse

TorrentFreak looks at the sleazy mass lawsuits brought against alleged BitTorrent users by pornographers and compiles a list of the criteria that lawyers use for deciding who to let off the hook. Your best strategy for avoiding one of these suits is to be a politician, a cop, a soldier or a corpse

Besides undercover cops, the adult entertainment company also has a policy of dismissing their cases against military personnel stationed oversees, according to the lawyer. The dead and famous are not settlement material either.

"Several of the John Doe Defendants have died prior to being identified. Several John Does have been public or political figures who Plaintiff did not choose to sue," White writes.

Although it's no surprise that dead people are not the easiest group to settle with, it's unclear why politicians and public figures have to be excluded. This group generally speaking can afford to pay a settlement fee, and as the settlements are undisclosed the press would never find out. It's also possible, however, they may just put up an embarrassing and potentially expensive fight.