Consequently, trolling has the potential to be a lucrative business, and troll cases are quickly consuming the federal docket. Del bianco, allowing antonelli law to represent defendants named in. I have represented many dozens of innocent defendants in bittorrent infringement litigation cases, and find that it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain regular hourly billing arrangements. Strike 3 holdings has filed several new cases in florida state court. This case was one of the first bittorrent infringement cases to be seen by any appellate court. Copyright infringement defenses bittorrent and software. It was formed by a swedish anti group and even has a legal section which displays many of the cease and desist letters it has received over the years. Judge baer severs john doe defendants in latest bittorrent. These suits are also sometimes referred to as mass lawsuits because for the first time, hundreds and sometimes thousands of individuals like yourself have been implicated in lawsuits alleging infringement. Malibu media owns the rights to xart brand films and strike 3 holdings operates vixen, tushy, and blacked. Well generally this is just a scare tactic, but the threats are a real possiblity if they see you doing this multiple times. The more work i do, the more money the client has to pay, and therefore, the more likely the client may, strictly for economic reasons, be pressured into entering into. Alternative fee agreement for bittorrent copyright cases. Bittorrent copyright infringement cases antonelli law.
These letters typically rely on citing cases whose outcomes may be outliers or have nothing to do with online infringement. Ca district court decides on the definition of copyright. A new flava of bittorrent copyright lawsuit, saper law. Each clients case resulted in the successful resolution of the subpoena. What to do if you are named in a bittorrent lawsuit nolo. Defense against isp subpoenas and infringement summons. Lawyers who represent plaintiffs in these cases have been labeled trolls and the lawsuits have been accused of being many things, ranging from collection rackets to extortion.
A torrent1 is a technical name for a new way of sharing electronic files across the internet. At this time, none of these cases have actually gone to trial, and some people doubt that any will. Jul 30, 2016 parts of our videos may constitute fair use under the laws, if you have an issue, please call us at 877 2765084. The company behind the oscarnominated film dallas buyers club sued 31 people in a federal district court in texas this month for allegedly using the legal filesharing service bittorrent to. According to the website torrent freak, a new record of 193,000 people. Torrent defenders antonelli law bt copyright defense group. Jan 07, 2014 a newlyformed crosscountry partnership has linked antonelli law, ltd. According to the website torrent freak, a new record of 193,000 people participated in sharing a single copy. Should i be worried about a copyright infringement notice. Jun 06, 2019 over 2700 additional infringement lawsuits were filed in u. If you believe that you may be the victim of infringement or you have been accused of infringement, contact thomas m. Why its getting harder to sue illegal movie downloaders. Antonelli law represents strike 3 holdings clients nationwide, including florida, and is ready to discuss your case today. About a week later, on or about may 8, 2012, plaintiffs counsel served two subpoenas upon optimum online, co csc holdings inc.
Under the inducement standard, the act of inducing another to infringe is now sufficient to confer secondary liability. Mar 15, 2012 in torrent or bittorrent cases, you cannot be liable for unauthorized copying infringement when the holder made the ed material available to you with torrent software. The following article looks at a selection of recent online infringement cases aimed at preventing piracy, 1 and gives a brief overview of the various legislative responses that are being considered or have been enacted throughout the world. Unauthorized sharing or downloading ed works is a violation of law.
That increase was due in large part to cases that pornography studios, strike 3 holdings and malibu media, filed against john doe internet downloaders alleging illegal downloading of the studios videos over filesharing services like bittorrent. Grigory drozd new events are added frequently we will update this list as new lawsuits are filed. Jul 02, 2014 in re bittorrent adult film copyright infringement cases, 296 f. Sticking to blackandwhite law, the substantial similarity element applies in law to bittorrent downloads as well at least now in california federal courts, and according to this ruling, a plaintiff needs to demonstrate that the entire ed video not a fragment, a snippet, or a snapshot was downloaded. The use of the bittorrent protocol for sharing of ed content generated a variety of novel legal issues. Want to talk to antonelli law and discuss your specific. Napster essentially pioneered a new industry on its platform, which became the flagship for peertopeer p2p computing.
District court for the district of oregon, continuing the status of the oregon district as a testing ground for new film titles in bittorrent litigation. You can get my latest article in your email email address. Zuffa llc dba ultimate fighting championship has filed federal infringement lawsuits alleging illegal viewing of pay per view events such as. Grokster, bittorrent, copyright infringement, and inducement. Over the last 10 years or so, the us courts have tried legal cases against many alleged online pirates. Jan 05, 2019 the new cases filed against bittorrent users alone skyrocketed in 2018. Record number of copyright infringement lawsuits in us courts. Chicago attorney expands scope of bit torrent copyright.
One study estimates that troll cases made up 52% of cases filed in federal court in 2014, and 58% of cases filed in federal court in 2015. Pennington new events are added frequently we will update this list as new lawsuits are filed. In the case relating to the recently dissolved prenda law firm of chicago, the. Isp subpoena defense movie download copyright infringement. Over 2700 additional infringement lawsuits were filed in u. Strike 3 holdings claims that defendants illegally downloaded their adult film content without paying the proper licensing fees, typically using filesharing software such as bittorrent. If you are reading this guide, you may be a defendant or may know a defendant involved in one of the bittorrent filesharing lawsuits. Your first notice of the lawsuit will probably be a letter from your internet service provider isp like. In june 2006, the popular website, a replicate of supernova. In that ruling, the court created the inducement standard, a new avenue by which artists could pursue claims against filesharing companies that were facilitating the infringement of their intellectual property. We are not liable for your use or viewing of our videos. Bittorrent is a peertopeer filesharing protocol that allows users to exchange large. Yet more new titles enter the bittorrent fray in oregon.
The case against combating bittorrent piracy through mass john. Bittorrent copyright infringement illegal download defense. Notably, the use of bittorrent in connection with ed material may make the issuers of the. Antonelli law provides effective, affordable legal defense nationwide against moviebased troll lawsuits. Sep 11, 2012 in the latest in a long line of sdny opinions on infringement cases brought against anonymous users of the bittorrent filesharing service, judge baer dismissed without prejudice the suits against all but the first identified john doe defendant in the case on the grounds that they were improperly joined. One of the most famous infringement cases was against the pirate bay, a popular bittorrent tracker. The defendants appealed the case all the way to the supreme court of. In total, more than 3,300 new cases were filed against bittorrent users. Bittorrentbased copyright infringement cases we are working on. Nov 27, 2014 i have represented many dozens of innocent defendants in bittorrent infringement litigation cases, and find that it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain regular hourly billing arrangements.
Copyright bittorrent delivering the worlds content. Since the late 1990s, holders have taken legal actions against a number of peertopeer intermediaries, such as pir, grokster, emule, soulseek, bittorrent and limewire, and case law on the liability of internet service providers isps in relation to infringement has emerged primarily in relation to these cases. Lawsuits that target swarms of bit torrent sharers have been contentious in legal and online communities. The use of the bittorrent protocol for sharing of ed content generated a variety of. District of new york, strike 3 filed a infringement suit and sought leave to. Our practice areas include infringement, commercial litigation, internet law, defamation, consumer protection, and more. Copyright trolls, legitimate ip rights, and the need for.
The amount of times that lowly filesharers have been actually sent to court have been very minimal but they make it sound very common. In many bittorrent infringement cases, once plaintiffs counsel receives the consumers identity information from the isp, a settlement demand letter is immediately sent. Thomas lancia pllc has represented clients in infringement cases for over twenty years. We have experience defending against these new tactics and will be able to help explain what the case means, your options for defense, and recommend the best path forward for you. The following is from a bittorrent case in which judge thomas. However, courts continue to show a reluctance to give plaintiffs, in those cases, all the tools they wish to use in an effort to squeeze every single dollar out of. The new cases filed against bittorrent users alone skyrocketed in 2018. By order and report and recommendation dated may 1, 2012 hereinafter the order, familiarity with which is assumed, this court granted in part motions by plaintiffs in these and several related actions1 for immediate. More than half of these lawsuits related to infringement were initiated by just two companies. In re bittorrent adult film copyright infringement cases. Dec 23, 2019 one of the most famous infringement cases was against the pirate bay, a popular bittorrent tracker. In re bittorrent adult film copyright infringement cases, 296 f.
There does not seem to be any decrease in the number of defendants accused of engaging in infringement through the use of bittorrent, a peertopeer file sharing program. New york judge puts brakes on copyright troll subpoenas. In october 2011, john wiley and sons brought suit against 27 new york. Two film production companies have filed novel bittorrent infringement suits in the u.
249 1459 982 758 48 884 1263 185 819 120 281 1337 1105 785 1343 1003 104 517 147 1409 1406 706 254 118 712 1108 1517 798 616 908 1228 422 735 759 880 695 324 51 159 863 1343