ok,my cousin said that the cops showed up at his door.he has been downloading torrents.he got scared…but they left.he called me and asked if I think they will come back.or if they are going to fine him or put him in jail? I am worried about him. would they not leave a letter or something? he told me they just knocked on the door and he did not open it. how “major” are we talking here jim lol.like 20 torrents??

Answer:
I don’t think the police will show up for copyright infringement, rather your cousin should have received a legal notice from the copyright holder. Copyright infringement is generally a civil case, but it can be treated as a criminal case where “willful and deliberate” acts of infringement occur. Unless your cousin was a major hub of pirated material, I think he’d just get a legal letter asking him to settle with the content owners or report for a civil trial. ** Edit ** Loren – Wiping their PC is probably the worst suggestion. By doing so, they are now destroying evidence and any judge will be very harsh in dealing with your cousin. You are also inaccurate on your statement about “It is not legal to download copywrited stuff.” Unless the copyright owner, or an authorized agent, is supplying you the material under a license, you are not authorized to have it. So to correct your statement, it is only legal to download when you have a license to download copyrighted material. Josh – Mostly correct, but since the No Electronic Theft Act of 1997, even non-commercial copyright infringement can be prosecuted criminally. ** Edit 2 ** I have no idea what defines “major” in the eye of the copyright holder or the law. I’m guessing though that 20 torrents would probably be a small time copyright infringement, if talking about songs, but if movies, it might be enough to attract attention. Granted that even 1 occurrence has the potential to draw attention for a civil action, but most likely the fine would not be enough to warrant bringing in a full legal team to pursue it.

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