Their motion will try to persuade the judge that facts are in dispute and should be resolved at trial. Attempt to settle.
If your motion for summary judgment is unsuccessful, you might want to settle your case. In general, going to trial is expensive and time consuming. Most plaintiffs and defendants will try to settle at this stage to avoid the burden of trial. Start by having informal discussions with the plaintiff.
Sit down with them in a conference room and hash out your differences. If informal discussions do not succeed, offer to take part in mediation. During mediation, a neutral third party will sit down with both parties and discuss common ground and unique solutions. The mediator will not take sides and will not offer their own opinions. If mediation stalls, try non-binding arbitration. During arbitration, a judge-like third party will listen to each party present evidence.
After the presentations, the judge will draft an opinion, which will lay out who has the stronger case, who they think would win, and what possible damages could be. You and the plaintiff may either choose to follow the arbitrator's opinion or you may reject it. Go to trial. If no settlement is reached, you will go to trial. At trial, the plaintiff will present their evidence first. They will be responsible for proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that you illegally downloaded copyrighted material.
After each of the plaintiff's witnesses is questioned by the plaintiff, you will have an opportunity to cross-examine them. During cross-examination, you will try to poke holes in the witness's testimony. Once the plaintiff rests, you will have your chance to present evidence. Your evidence, in the form of witnesses testimony and physical evidence, will need to poke holes in the plaintiff's case and try to show that you did not do anything against the law.
Once all of the evidence has been heard, the judge or jury will deliberate and come to a decision. If you successfully defend yourself, you will not be liable to the plaintiff and you will not have to pay any damages. If you lose, ask your lawyer about appealing. In order to appeal, the judge in your case must have made some legal error that affected the outcome.
If you choose to appeal, you need to do so quickly by filing a notice of appeal with the court. Part 4. Hire a criminal lawyer. Civil lawyers will not be a big help if you have been charged with a crime. You will know if you have been charged with a crime if you have been arrested, read your Miranda rights, or have been arraigned. As soon as you recognize that you may be charged with a crime, you need to hire a qualified criminal defense lawyer.
Criminal defense lawyers will be able to work with prosecutors, navigate the criminal justice system, and represent you in court. If you do not know any criminal lawyers, contact your state bar association's lawyer referral service. After answering a few questions about your legal troubles, you will be put in contact with multiple lawyers in you area. Participate in plea discussions. Depending on the strength of your case, your lawyer might suggest pleading out and avoiding trial.
However, if your case for innocence is strong, you might not want to participate in plea discussions. Plea discussions can be formal or informal depending on the type of case you are involved in and the complexity of it. Simple plea deals can be discussed in hallways and finalized within hours. In other cases, plea discussions can take days of back-and-forth. The bargaining will take place between your lawyer and the prosecutor. Your lawyer will try to get the prosecutor to reduce the charge or the sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.
Once a deal has been proposed, you will be the one to decide whether to accept it. Your lawyer cannot do this for you. If you accept a plea deal, the prosecutor will present it to the judge. It will then be up to the judge to decide whether to allow it. If the judge signs off on the plea deal, it will be finalized. Follow any court orders issued. If you have decided to plead not guilty, your lawyer and the prosecution will take part in various pretrial hearings.
During these hearings, the judge will decide, among other things, whether you should be released from jail or stay while you await trial. If you are released pending trial, you need to make sure you follow any court orders the judge has issued. In your type of case, the judge might require you to avoid computers or other devices that could be used to download copyrighted materials.
You may also be required to submit to random searches to ensure you are following the rules set out for you. No matter what the court order is, do not disobey. If you fail to follow the rules, you may end up back in jail awaiting trial.
Decide whether to testify. As a criminal defendant, you have the constitutional right to avoid self incrimination. This means you do not have to testify at your criminal trial. For example, testifying may help you clear up confusion about certain pieces of evidence or statements you may have made outside of court.
In addition, some jurors may expect you to testify if you are innocent i. However, when you testify you open yourself up to cross-examination. During cross-examination, prosecutors can raise issues and have discussions that would otherwise be inadmissible e. In addition, some jurors assume criminal defendants are lying when they take the witness stand.
When your trial begins arrive early and dress professionally. While your attorney is trying to fight for your freedom, you are also putting on a show for the court. Jurors and judges will notice your appearance and take note of it. While evidence is being presented, remain calm and never speak unless you are testifying. Allow your lawyer to do their job and represent you.
When the trial is over, the jury or judge will deliberate and come to a final decision. If you win, you will be found not guilty and you will not have to deal with the charges again.
If you lose, you will be sentenced to jail time, prison time, probation, or maybe you will just have to pay a fine. If you do not agree with the outcome of the trial, you may be able to appeal. Talk with your lawyer if you think this might be an option. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Deleting the file won't make the lawsuit go away, unfortunately. It is enough that you illegally downloaded the material. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0.
Related wikiHows How to. How to. More References About this article. Co-authored by:. Co-authors: 7. Updated: June 29, Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 6, times. Did this article help you? Yes No. Cookies make wikiHow better. Posted by: Isaac 21 Feb I had heard somewhere that artists make deals with record companies to distribute their music, but the artists themselves make the most money by doing tours and such.
I can understand that most fans of favorite artist would much rather see a live performance than listen to the studio songs, and it is reflected in the balance of the free market.
Posted by: Zeke Krahlin 05 Mar That is a false value of a pathetically materialistic dogma. The absurd monthly fee I pay to keep a slummy roof over my head, does NOT reflect what I think it's worth. What it DOES reflect is a greedy society that punishes you for not being uber-rich. More people than ever are losing their jobs and going homeless Posted by: Deke 07 Mar Zeke - If you don't think your slummy dwelling is worth what you're paying for it, why not move out?
Isaac - Most big artists do indeed make most of their money from touring, this is because they now charge silly seat prices to make up for what they're losing in media sales. People further down the ladder of success don't have this option. If you allow for inflation records are cheaper than they've ever been, and let's be honest, CDs sound much better than 78s Unless you have a laser vinyl player, and if you do then you're probably stinking rich On the other hand live music prices are now considerably more expensive than they've ever been.
Ted - History says differently. In the 50s rock'n'roll took the world by storm, in the 60s it was The British Invasion, in the 70s along came punk, in the 80s along came cheap keyboards with preprogrammed sounds and rhythms on them, and that was the end of it.
The rise of the internet has been mirrored by a total lack of any kind of innovation in the field of music. Not that I'm blaming the 'net, but it sure hasn't helped Posted by: Anti 18 Feb Have you watched 'here's my crib' on MTV recently? Where the hell did 'artists' get the idea that their music is worth so much? That goes for sports people too.
And actors. Until the situation rights itself, people will happily download because they have no loyalty to these bogus 'stars'. Posted by: William 29 Jun I found this really great quote over the internet that applies: "There's no way to rule innocent men.
The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. When there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.
I bet most of the people how have commented or are reading this article including me have watched videos and such on the internet. When you watch these videos, your computer downloads it temporarily, so does that make anyone an illegal downloader. They would get a lot more money. Sorry if it is a little long. Before I read this, I was thinking about downloading some animes that are no longer in circulation.
I can't find the series in any stores and I do not trust online servicse like eBay. So question Is it still illegal even though a regular consumer can't buy it anymore? Posted by: Bazyl 30 Aug The RIAA says "We're suing this middle schooler on behalf of the the poor starving artist", yet the money goes to the label, not the artist They also charge small club owners a fee for letting local bands perform cover tunes.
Posted by: Andy 08 Sep What's clear from a lot of the comments here is that this is an issue because of the sort of society we live in. There is a growing body of opinion that advocates free access to ALL goods and services.
Also consider this: If financial gain is the motivation, what does that say about the integrity of Art? You really don't have to think very hard or very long to see how utterly stupid that idea is.
How long do you think the producers of the goods and services would continue to produce them, if they were required to give them away for free? Posted by: Aaron 13 Jan I don't pirate because I'm not interested. However, I could care less about these industries who have ripped the people for years.
Now the tables have turned and they have the audacity to be rabid?!?! What a joke! Posted by: kevin 20 Jun My problem with this is that you are downloading something that doesn't exist, it has no mass, you cant hold it or touch it, its not a physical object so what are you stealing? I have got letters from my ISP asking me to stop downloading from p2p networks but I know they were just being polite following their policy. No reason to shoot the messenger.
Anyways there is no way to prove that you downloaded a file, cause who is to say the file you are even downloading is the file that it claims to be. There are too many varibles.
Posted by: Sakasama 20 Jan The people doing the downloading would never spend money on music in the first place, so there isn't actually anything to lose. Hiring a lawyer gives you several advantages, most notable is that when you are represented by a lawyer, the plaintiff is no longer allowed to contact you except through your lawyer, which will prevent harassment.
Communicating through a lawyer means you will not incriminate yourself by inadvertently revealing personal information, or by admitting anything you shouldn't. What are you risking if you fight?
Sometimes you can't fight without revealing your identifying information. Even if your name and personal information are not revealed, if you reveal which IP address you are, or which Doe, the Plaintiff may decide to make an example of you and sue you individually.
If this happens, the Plaintiff is far less likely to settle for a small amount, and you may end up with a larger judgment against you. Sharing or downloading copyrighted files without the permission of the copyright holder violates the law, and you might end up paying for it in court. Many people do not want to risk having their identity revealed, or do not want the risk, time commitment, or attorney's fees associated with a legal battle. In this case, you can settle with the plaintiff, often for a few thousand dollars.
If you choose this route, we recommend you do this through an attorney, who can protect your personal information and your rights. As we noted above, when you are represented by an attorney, the plaintiff can no longer contact you except through that attorney. This means no harassing phone calls or letters. Also, an experienced attorney can sometimes get a better deal on settlement and can make sure negotiations stay anonymous and do not incriminate you in any way.
Finally, an attorney's review can make sure the settlement agreement legitimately settles your case and protects your interests. To defend yourself, you will need to show real evidence that you would not or could not have been involved in downloading or sharing the file.
In one case, our law firm was able to prove that the client did not have the IP address at the time the alleged downloading occurred. However, that is not the norm. If someone accessed your wireless router, you would not be legally liable, but you would have to have real evidence to back up your assertion.
Many people claim that someone else did it but they lack evidence to prove it. For example, a year-old great-grandmother with a wireless router that is not password-protected is going to get more people to believe that she didn't download something than a college student with a password-protected router.
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