I’ve been caught up in the trolling efforts of a well-known firm that pursues possible pirates of pornographic films. I’m innocent, I’ve never even heard of the film and I don’t participate in piracy. I’m willing to offer my computer to be searched to clear my name, though they’re pressing for a settlement of a few thousand dollars before they publicly name me as a defendant (one of those ‘John Doe’ situations). Seeing as the best evidence they have is an IP address that was somehow affiliated with my internet account, do I even need to hire a lawyer for this?
Ignore it and don’t give them a dime. These companies are using scare tactics to persuade people into handing over money to them as a “settlement”, and sadly people fall for it. The simple fact is without a lawful subpoena they cannot obtain any usable evidence from either you or your ISP, even then their case against you would be extremely weak and most likely wouldn’t even move to trial.
do not let them have your computer, what is to stop then having all sorts planted on it.
if they have a case let them present their evidence to a judge first and see if he agrees.
just write them a letter telling them that you totally refute their allegation and look forward to seeing them in court
trust me you will not hear from them again