The two large UK ISPs BT and Virgin Media have admitted they have turned over the personal details of thousands of alleged pirates after the High Court ordered them to.
The personal information was then given to Topwear Inc and their lawyers Davenport Lyons who are set to send thousands of threatening letters to those who allegedly pirated any of Topware's games.
BT admitted that they are being forced to hand over the personal details but added that they are surprised at the "strong arm" tactics of the gaming industry, even in comparison to the music industry.
“It does seem a much more strong arm approach compared to the music industry,” said a BT spokesman. “However, it is only one company pursuing a limited number of miscreants at the moment. I doubt the music industry will follow suit as the potential numbers are too great, but who knows.”
Virgin seemed upset at Topware's tactics as well, saying they prefer the "educational" route used by the music industry.
“We certainly prefer the education route we pioneered with the BPI because you can’t assume people are guilty of anything, so we don’t, we let them know of what might have happened and give information on how to ensure they enjoy legal downloads. This would definitely seem to be a very different approach from a different industry,” added a Virgin spokesperson.
BT admitted that they are being forced to hand over the personal details but added that they are surprised at the "strong arm" tactics of the gaming industry, even in comparison to the music industry.
“It does seem a much more strong arm approach compared to the music industry,” said a BT spokesman. “However, it is only one company pursuing a limited number of miscreants at the moment. I doubt the music industry will follow suit as the potential numbers are too great, but who knows.”
Virgin seemed upset at Topware's tactics as well, saying they prefer the "educational" route used by the music industry.
“We certainly prefer the education route we pioneered with the BPI because you can’t assume people are guilty of anything, so we don’t, we let them know of what might have happened and give information on how to ensure they enjoy legal downloads. This would definitely seem to be a very different approach from a different industry,” added a Virgin spokesperson.
