IN 2008 computer games companies were very quick to highlight what they said was a significant victory in preventing unlawful downloads of games from file sharing websites.

London solicitors Davenport Lyons, had sent out a significant number of letters on behalf of the owners of copyright in computer games, to what appear to have been thousands of recipients, asserting that there had been infringements of their clients’ copyright, by unlawful downloading.

In each case its clients had been able to obtain the details of the downloading involved, from ISPs.

The letters typically sought a settlement figure in the region of a few hundred pounds. One of those letters led to a reported court decision against Isabella Barwinska, from East London. She did not comply with Davenport Lyons’ requests, and the owners of the game took her to court. In an undefended action, Ms Barwinska was ordered to pay £6,086.56 damages, and £10,000 in costs.

However, the campaign by the games companies also provoked a lot of adverse press, with many complaining that the solicitors’ letters were heavy-handed, and the sums involved excessive.

This year sees another wave of action on behalf of the games companies.

ACS:Law, a small London firm has sent out a new wave of letters, again seeking settlement figures of several hundred pounds in order to avoid court action and reaction is already growing.

Some comments even query whether ACS:Law is a genuine firm of solicitors (which it is), while other adverse comments are aimed at the ISPs.

There are also suggestions of involving the authorities, such as Trading Standards, on the supposition that the letters from ACS:Law are fake, which is unlikely to be productive.

In some cases, the recipients of the letters may well be innocent of conducting the downloading themselves and perhaps others have been able to access an unsecured wireless system.

However, in many cases there will undoubtedly be an element of chickens coming home to roost.

Unlawful downloading from unauthorised file sharing websites is an infringement of copyright.

Although the initial sums involved are, in relative terms, not very large, if the owners of the copyright decide to do something about the downloading, whether for the purposes of revenue raising, or deterrence, it is going to be difficult to fight them if they have proof of what appears to be unlawful downloading.

In response, at least one firm of solicitors, Lawdit in Southampton, has set up a fixed fee package for an initial assessment of the issues, run by its ‘P2P Defence Team’.

If one of these cases should come to a fully contested court hearing, there are a number of issues where the court’s guidance would be helpful, such as the proportionality of the costs involved, and the strength of the evidence which the games companies have.

The whole area of the legal framework surrounding unlawful downloading is currently being considered as part of the Digital Britain Review, being conducted by Stephen Carter, Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting.

The ideas which are being debated include a new approach to civil enforcement of copyright and also possible legislation requiring ISPs to notify alleged infringers that their conduct is unlawful.

The final report is expected to be published in early summer this year. In the meantime would-be unlawful downloaders need to be aware that downloading an apparently “free” copy of a game from a file sharing website, could well land them with a hefty bill.

The digital data revolution will see electronic devices and the internet play as much a part of investigations in the future as DNA