Barrister struck off following copyright case

An intellectual property lawyer has been struck off for representing his own company in a copyright infringement case.

The lawyer, David Harris, who was based at Technology Chambers in Brighton, was found guilty of representing his own website, Newzbin, which allowed users to download copyrighted material illegally.

“It became clear throughout the course of the trial that David Harris was the sole shareholder of Newzbin and also a director,” said Simon Baggs, head of IP at media law firm Wiggin.

“Our clients were very concerned about that because it seemed like a very inappropriate way for a barrister to behave. After the case we were instructed to take action, because we felt that what he had done was utterly unacceptable.”

Newzbin’s records with Companies House showed that the major shareholder and director was another person entirely. When this individual was cross-examined as a witness for Newzbin, however, the truth came to light.

“The witness was asked whether he was the sole shareholder and whether he was a director. He answered ‘no’ to both questions,” said Baggs. “The witness was then asked who was, and he replied that David Harris was.”

It also came to light that Harris had been tweeting about the case using the Twitter handle @Geeklawyer. The Bar Standards Board heard how Harris used this account to update followers on the case, to insult the opposition barristers and to accuse them of spying on him.

In one tweet he appeared to admit liability in the case, saying “We are guilty as sin”. “We were very surprised to see the kinds of things that he was saying,” said Baggs.