Eagle Rock Photographer wrote:
Can you see the massive flaw in it?

Why don't you educate us about this alleged "massive flaw"?

Looknsee Photography wrote:

Why don't you educate us about this alleged "massive flaw"?

It allows the big thief to 'opt out' and force the 'little guy' plaintiff into full-blown federal court.

Managing Light wrote:
Wait!!  What am I missing: Participation is voluntary, you can opt out and there doesn't seem to be any way to collect damages?

I'm pretty sure there isn't a way to collect damages in pretty much any civil suit, be it small claims or umm, large? claims.

hbutz New York wrote:
All these bills protect the Recording Industry and large corporations.

How you figure that?  The recording industry probably wouldn't bother with a "small claim" -- it's hardly worth the time & effort for a whole industry.  If the claim is small, a "cease & desist" notice usually suffices, and if not, bring on the big hammer.

Looknsee Photography wrote:
I'm pretty sure there isn't a way to collect damages in pretty much any civil suit, be it small claims or umm, large? claims.

wrong

Looknsee Photography wrote:
I'm pretty sure there isn't a way to collect damages in pretty much any civil suit, be it small claims or umm, large? claims.

Eagle Rock Photographer wrote:
wrong

Wrong yourself.  (See -- that's a most unhelpful reply).

I'm willing to be educated -- how do the courts enforce the payment of damages?  Note:  yes, there are collection agencies that can help, but my original intent was stating that the courts do not enforce the damages they award.

Looknsee Photography wrote:
[ I'm pretty sure there isn't a way to collect damages in pretty much any civil suit, be it small claims or umm, large? claims.

Eagle Rock Photographer wrote:
wrong

Looknsee Photography wrote:
Wrong yourself.  (See -- that's a most unhelpful reply).
I'm willing to be educated -- how do the courts enforce the payment of damages?  Note:  yes, there are collection agencies that can help, but my original intent was stating that the courts do not enforce the damages they award.

There are limitations.  If the person has no assets, you are probably not going to get anything.  In PA, you can select a couple of options.  If you feel like you need to court to do the collection, then you chose to have the sheriff collect.  You can put a lien on the person's assets.  The house can't be sold so they may not pay but they are also stuck.  Having an open judgement against you hurts your credit and shows up from time to time.   It can hurt job prospects.  The constable, in PA, can enter your house and start taking stuff.  This is not full proof.  I was outside a customer's place one day and the constable was waiting for the neighbor, who had lost a judgement to my customer.  The neighbor showed up and told the constable to wait.  And for some unknown reason, he did, while the person he was trying to collect against was inside hiding all the valuables.  Someone had a judgement against a carpenter that use to rent an office where I worked.  One day the sheriff came in and said they were about to tow my truck.  The person with the judgement against the carpenter had driven past and wrote down my truck's license number, believing it belonged to the carpenter.  The people I worked with stopped him.  They checked the registration and found the truck was not registered to the other guy.  You would think they would have done that first.  But the system is only as good as the stupidest people that run it.

You can not declare bankruptcy to avoid a copyright infringement judgement (according to the copyright zone). 

The guy that use to do my horse shoes had a judgement against a minor for not paying for shoes.  The parents set it up to screw the guy over.  However, the district justice was aware of the situation and the farrier sent a monthly notice to the girl, with interest and handling fees.  When she graduated, and was 18, her wealthy parents bought her a car.  A tow truck pulled up at her graduation party to confiscate her new car.  The father paid the bill and costs on the spot.

Another one of my customers spent 10 years to get through court, and 13,000 dollars, in a case against her neighbor.  He just ignored the judges order.  My customer took him back to court and the neighbor faced jail time if he didn't comply.  He complied.

You can collect some of the time, but you have to work at it.  Sometimes people will just go underground.  I have had a couple of customers that had nothing in their name.  I didn't ask about the details, but I am reasonably sure they were ducking judgements.