Our previous post praising The Witcher 2 developers CD Projekt for their anti-DRM stance apparently told only half the story, as the company hasn't exactly been turning the other cheek when it comes to the rampant piracy they claim has affected their sales. In fact, they've hired a law firm and "torrent monitoring company" to track purported pirates' IP addresses (mostly in Germany) and issue them settlement proposals of up to $1,230, according to Torrent Freak.
So some game pirates will have to pay up for their copyright infringements. That's fine. The problems arise, though, when innocent people are wrongly accused and treated like criminals. Even if 99% of their targets really did download the game, that 1% are going to suffer through no fault of their own.
That's not exactly in keeping with the image the developer has been attempting to project, as the do-gooder protectors of innocent game consumers everywhere. Say what you want about piracy, but copyright-trolling mass settlements target those without the means to defend themselves in court, regardless of innocence or guilt, and they're sleazy as hell. CD Projekt, consider your brief stint as the golden boys of anti-DRM sentiment officially over.
Do you think they're within their rights to demand settlements from potential pirates? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter.
