Davenport Lyons
Encyclopedia
Davenport Lyons is a London-based law firm who provide legal advice and services across various fields. Although most of their work concerns corporate acquisitions, in 2007 their actions against file sharers
became news in the United Kingdom. This subject became widely publicised in late 2008 because of the number of innocent people receiving letters from the company, it was reported on Watchdog
that Atari
stopped using this company for this reason.
They were incorporated in 2001 and in 2008 listed 16 associates and 41 partners. Prior to their entry into file-sharing related intellectual property
litigation, they were best known for their involvement in the case of a London tailor near Saville Row.
in September for having acted for HarperCollins
in the case brought by the BBC to prevent the publication of the autobiography of Ben Collins
, the mystery driver known as the Stig
in Top Gear, the BBC TV series. The High Court refused to grant the injunction and the book, The Man in the White Suit, has now been published.
.
to the Solicitors Regulation Authority
(SRA) about Davenport-Lyons' "campaign of letters alleging illegal filesharing".
The case against Davenport Lyons partners David Gore and Brian Miller was the subject of a 7 day hearing at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), starting 31 May 2011.
On 8 June 2011, the SDT found that all allegations against the pair had been proven. They were fined £20,000 each, ordered to pay interim costs of £150,000, and suspended from practising for three months. The SRA said:
. British technology news site The Register
reported that some staff transferred from Davenport Lyons to ACS:Law to continue the work.
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
became news in the United Kingdom. This subject became widely publicised in late 2008 because of the number of innocent people receiving letters from the company, it was reported on Watchdog
Watchdog (TV series)
Watchdog is a BBC television series that investigates viewers' reports of problematic experiences with traders, retailers, and other companies around the UK...
that Atari
Atari, Inc (Infogrames)
The company that currently bears the Atari Inc. name was founded in 1993 under the name GT Interactive. In 1999, Infogrames Entertainment, SA acquired a 62% controlling interest in GT Interactive, and proceeded to rename it Infogrames, Inc. After IESA's acquisition of Hasbro Interactive and its...
stopped using this company for this reason.
They were incorporated in 2001 and in 2008 listed 16 associates and 41 partners. Prior to their entry into file-sharing related intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
litigation, they were best known for their involvement in the case of a London tailor near Saville Row.
Notable case
Robin Shaw was named Lawyer of the Week by The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in September for having acted for HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
in the case brought by the BBC to prevent the publication of the autobiography of Ben Collins
Ben Collins
Ben Collins or Benjamin Collins may refer to:* Ben Collins * Ben Collins * Ben Collins , former Ubuntu Linux kernel lead, former Debian Project Leader...
, the mystery driver known as the Stig
The Stig
The Stig is a character in the British motoring television show Top Gear. The character plays on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, with the running joke that nobody knows who, or indeed what, is inside the character's racing suit. The character was the creation of presenter Jeremy...
in Top Gear, the BBC TV series. The High Court refused to grant the injunction and the book, The Man in the White Suit, has now been published.
Complaints and Investigations
Davenport Lyons has been accused of trying to extort money from people for alleged copyright infringement. The law firm has accused up to 25,000 people of downloading material such as computer games, music and even pornography that the computer users allegedly know nothing about. This has led to a barrage of complaints against the law firm and investigations by organisations such as Which?Which?
Which? is a product-testing and consumer campaigning charity with a magazine, website and various other services run by Which? Ltd ....
.
Solicitors Regulation Authority
In 2008 an official complaint was made by the Consumers' AssociationConsumers' Association
The Consumers' Association is the umbrella organisation that houses the trading arm Which? Ltd. The Consumers' Association is a charity, registered in England and Wales No 296072. Which? Ltd is its wholly owned trading subsidiary....
to the Solicitors Regulation Authority
Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Solicitors Regulation Authority was launched on 29 January 2007. It is the regulatory body for more than 120,000 solicitors in England and Wales...
(SRA) about Davenport-Lyons' "campaign of letters alleging illegal filesharing".
The case against Davenport Lyons partners David Gore and Brian Miller was the subject of a 7 day hearing at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), starting 31 May 2011.
On 8 June 2011, the SDT found that all allegations against the pair had been proven. They were fined £20,000 each, ordered to pay interim costs of £150,000, and suspended from practising for three months. The SRA said:
- Solicitors have a duty to act with integrity, independence and in the best interests of their clients. Solicitors who breach those duties can expect to face action by the SRA.
Groups against Davenport Lyons
In response to Davenport Lyons' initial campaign against suspected file sharers, the pressure group 'Being Threatened' was created, to enable those wrongly accused to take action. They offer the same support and advice to people now being targeted in a similar manner by law firm ACS:LawACS:Law
ACS:Law was a United Kingdom law firm specialising in intellectual property law. Prior to 2009, its most notable case was the defence of a British national accused of public indecency in Dubai. The firm is best known for its actions against persons allegedly infringing copyright through...
. British technology news site The Register
The Register
The Register is a British technology news and opinion website. It was founded by John Lettice, Mike Magee and Ross Alderson in 1994 as a newsletter called "Chip Connection", initially as an email service...
reported that some staff transferred from Davenport Lyons to ACS:Law to continue the work.