I'm a bit surprised that this seems to be a new development in the United States. In Germany this is the prevailing mechanism to make money from filesharing. Th

I'm a bit surprised that this seems to be a new development in the United States. In Germany this is the prevailing mechanism to make money from filesharing. They use cease and desist letters instead of subpoenas, but the principle is the same: Pay us and we don't take you to court.