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> it would be effortless to defend against The premise here was that defending it was a loss for the people in question as it was niche/embarrassing porn stuff
by CPLX 7y ago
> it would be effortless to defend against
The premise here was that defending it was a loss for the people in question as it was niche/embarrassing porn stuff. Lawsuits are a matter of public record.
The goal was to make people settle quietly. It worked.
This scheme was an extortion strategy under cover of legal work. That’s something the legal profession was extremely unhappy with and the reason they came down so hard on these people.
- jaclaz 7y agoThe approach seems a variation (in modern times) of the one in Roald Dahl's story "The Bookseller": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bookseller_(short_story) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bookseller_(short_story) which was very likely inspired by a 1935 story by James Gould Cozzens, "Clerical Error". Though the stories above made leverage on the desire by widows to protect the memory of their recently departed husband, essentially it is the same.
- edoo 7y agoThe only reason they got in trouble is they themselves were offering up the files for sharing. Otherwise it is still a valid business plan.