Online piracy has been a huge threat to the revenues of Hollywood studios. Now, Warner Bros. is pursuing infringers who downloaded and shared the sitcom just like that one letter recipient who downloaded the fifth episode in the second season of Friends.
The iconic TV show became widely popular in 1995, but it’s still popular now with copyright infringers. Although it’s been more than a decade since the last episode of Friends aired, Warner Bros. is not letting people pirate the sitcom without consequences.
Warner Bros. targets individual users of torrent sites like The Pirate Bay. Aside from warning the alleged pirates who are breaking the law, the Hollywood studio also demands a settlement amount of the copyrighted content. They sent letters to subscribers who downloaded episodes of the TV show from various torrent sites.
The notice reads “Although WB understands and appreciates that you are a fan of its content, the unauthorized uploading and downloading of its copyrighted content is a serious matter,”
“Your ISP service could be suspended if this matter is not resolved. You could also be liable for substantial civil penalties for copyright infringement.”
To avoid the risk of being sued for copyright infringement, Warner Bros. offers an opportunity for the Internet subscriber to settle the case by submitting a payment of $20.
The notice also explains “The damage to WB from your conduct substantially exceeds $20, but in the interest of having you stop your infringement of WB content permanently, WB is prepared to make you this settlement offer,”
With all things considered, a copyrighted material retains its value regardless of how old that material is.