MPAA Versus Shawn Hogan

Last November, Shawn Hogan received a call from a lawyer for the MPAA telling him that he was to be sued. Apaprently, he'd dowloaded Meet the Fockers illegally and they had his little red digital mitt in the cuffs.

He was told that for $2,500 he could settle and it would all be done. Two-five for Meet the Fockers? That's criminal.

Unfortunately for the MPAA (and perhaps, ultimately Mr. Hogan, because I'm not too naive to think he's necessarily telling the truth, or even if he is, that he's going to come out on top) he denied the claims, explained that he'd in fact already purchased said "comedy" on DVD and was now going to fight the good fight in the courts, all the way to the top. That doesn't really happen in cases like this, the potential loss scares most people into coughing up. The MPAA have a pretty good scam going, perhaps, but...

Mr. Hogan is a millionaire. A few times over. And as far as he's concerned, he'll happily spend plenty of his moolah, battling this injustice. The legal costs alone could be massive but he isn't flinching.

I'd like to see the MPAA go down, just to teach them a lesson, but I suspect all they might learn - might want to learn - is to check the bank balances of their intended victims before siccing the law squad on them.