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<blockquote data-quote="Cadfan" data-source="post: 4966485" data-attributes="member: 40961">The numbers in question were probably decided by beginning with potential statutory, compensatory and punitive damages in similar cases, factoring in the cost of litigation (apparently about 15 grand per case) and the likelihood of victory (probably about 100%).&nbsp; Then, based on this calculation, the attorneys for both sides negotiated a settlement somewhere in the middle of each side's estimation of the likely outcome if a trial were to go forward.&nbsp;As for the number of downloads relied upon in the case, its worth noting that the copies downloaded from Scribd were probably re-uploaded to torrent by some of the people who downloaded it, resulting in far more total downloads.&nbsp; That may not matter if your perspective is statutory damages, but if your perspective is actual harm actually suffered, the chain probably goes a lot further than just Scribd.&nbsp;Its kind of an awkward case in a way, because it was inevitable that someone would have done this and harmed WotC in this manner, but as it happens these guys were the first and they did it in an easily traceable manner.&nbsp;Anyways, I have mixed feelings.&nbsp; WotC certainly didn't litigate this aggressively, but the numbers do seem awfully high for a private individual to pay.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Cadfan, post: 4966485, member: 40961"] The numbers in question were probably decided by beginning with potential statutory, compensatory and punitive damages in similar cases, factoring in the cost of litigation (apparently about 15 grand per case) and the likelihood of victory (probably about 100%). Then, based on this calculation, the attorneys for both sides negotiated a settlement somewhere in the middle of each side's estimation of the likely outcome if a trial were to go forward. As for the number of downloads relied upon in the case, its worth noting that the copies downloaded from Scribd were probably re-uploaded to torrent by some of the people who downloaded it, resulting in far more total downloads. That may not matter if your perspective is statutory damages, but if your perspective is actual harm actually suffered, the chain probably goes a lot further than just Scribd. Its kind of an awkward case in a way, because it was inevitable that someone would have done this and harmed WotC in this manner, but as it happens these guys were the first and they did it in an easily traceable manner. Anyways, I have mixed feelings. WotC certainly didn't litigate this aggressively, but the numbers do seem awfully high for a private individual to pay. [/QUOTE]

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