The Singapore chapter of non-governmental organisation Internet Society has had enough of the bullying tactics meted out by a local legal firm handling the lawsuits against alleged illegal downloaders of the film Dallas Buyers Club.
Samuel Seow Law Corporation are representing the American film studio Voltage Pictures in their hunt for those who’ve downloaded their movie illegally, issuing demand letters to subscribers of various IP addresses identified to have done so.
The Internet Society Singapore however have lodged a complaint with the Law Society against lawyers Robert Raj Joseph and Lee Heng Eam for using threats of criminal proceedings to advance civil claims, TODAY reports. They claim that their tactics breach the Law Society’s ethical guidelines for legal practitioners.
Demand letters issued laid out a maximum fine of $50,000 or imprisonment of up to three years for a conviction under Section 136(3) the Copyright act as well as a maximum fine of $20,000 and six months in jail under Section 136(3A) of the Act.
Speaking to TODAY, Internet Society (Singapore) president Harish Pillay maintained that the law firm engaged in a “bad bullying tactic”, with demand letters worded to make people panic, especially those unfamiliar with the law. This lead to some alleged offenders making compensations without first seeking legal help.
According to the law firm’s managing director Samuel Seow, Raj is in the midst of leaving the company and a new team has taken over the Dallas Buyers Club case. They’ve recently sent out a new batch of letters to Starhub and Singtel subscribers who are alleged offenders, which they claim are worded differently from the ones sent by Raj.
