Even though the music and movie industries have been more willing to crack down against alleged file sharers, the video game industry has quietly sat aside observing the effectiveness of the lawsuits... until now.
A British woman accused of illegally offering TopWare Interactive's Dream Pinball 3D for free to download over the Internet has been forced by a U.K. court to pay more than £16,000 in restitution. Isabella Barwinska is being forced to pay £6,000 in damages and £10,000 in court costs after a civil hearing in a London court held her responsible.
Barwinska, an unemployed mother of two children, must now pay the fine by August 25, or will face further fines, British newspapers reported.
TopWare's game costs ~£26 on the market, but the company sent out 500 letters to alleged file sharers to stop sharing the game and pay a £340 out of court settlement, which will help them avoid further court proceedings. Four people have been forced to pay £750 settlements.
Another 100 people in the U.K. are being targeted for allegedly uploading the game to other file sharers over the Internet. The landmark case could open the flood gates for game makers to begin suing file sharers who are illegally uploading the game to other Internet users.
Similar to actions from music and video trade groups in the United States, British organizations, with the British Phonographic Industry leading the way, have attempted to put a stranglehold on file sharing among U.K. Internet users.
Some PC video game manufacturers, including id Software, which has been PC-oriented since its creation, are now thinking about entering console gaming to help avoid possible PC game piracy. Although many games now have Internet activation and other anti-piracy measures, the game makers have been reluctant to track down home users who are downloading and uploading their products.
