Torrent Lawsuit Defense

Archives for December 2018

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Pennsylvania Hit with 18 More Strike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media Lawsuits

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright noticesStrike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media don’t seem to be taking any time off for the holidays as they have filed 18 new file-sharing lawsuits in Pennsylvania. Both companies are notorious mass-filers of copyright suits against anonymous internet users, identified only by an IP addresses. They hire overseas investigators to monitor bittorrent traffic and identify any IP addresses observed to be downloading and sharing the Plaintiffs’ films. Strike 3 Holdings owns the rights to Vixen, Tushy, Blacked, and Blacked Raw. Malibu Media owns the rights to X-Art. They then sue the IP address as a “John Doe” and ask the courts to subpoena the identity of the internet subscriber through the Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The Plaintiffs are able to file so many lawsuits because each lawsuit is virtually identical, with only the IP address and details of the alleged infringements differing. Usually the defendant first finds out about the lawsuit when they receive a notice from their ISP notifying them about the subpoena and the possibility of filing a motion to quash. It is important to begin an effective defense at this stage. Securing representation early can provide you with more options to protect your identity and fight the allegations.

Although each lawsuit is similar, every case represents potentially thousands of dollars in damages per infringement if not properly defended against. These companies invest money into each case and hope to maximize the damages for their financial benefit. These notices are serious. If you do not respond, the ISP is obligated to provide your identity to the Plaintiff, which allows them to serve you with a summons and complaint. Once you are served, you typically have 21 days to respond in Federal court.
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Strike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media File 75 More Cases in New York

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright noticesStrike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media don’t seem to be taking any time off for the holidays. They have continued to sweep New York with 75 more file sharing lawsuits against John Does. Strike 3 Holdings has been particularly busy, filing 57 new BitTorrent lawsuits, including 23 on Christmas Day. Malibu Media has also filed 18 more cases against internet subscribers.

Although different companies, Strike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media have similar strategies. They both pay overseas investigators to monitor BitTorrent activity and record the IP addresses observed downloading their copyrighted films. Strike 3 Holdings owns the rights to Vixen, Tushy, Blacked, and Blacked Raw and Malibu Media owns X-Art. Both companies are notorious mass-filers of these copyright suits. The companies then sue the IP addresses for copyright infringement, asking for thousands of dollars in damages per infringement.

The Plaintiffs are able to file so many lawsuits because each lawsuit is virtually identical, with only the IP address and details of the alleged infringements differing. They sue each IP address as a “John Doe” and then subpoena the internet service provider (ISP) to discover the name of the subscriber. Usually the defendant first finds out about the lawsuit when they receive a notice from their ISP regarding the subpoena and the option to file a motion to quash. It is important to begin an effective defense at this stage. Securing representation early can provide you with more options to protect your identity and how to fight the allegations.

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Strike 3 Holdings Files 10 New Lawsuits in Colorado

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright noticesIn a seemingly never-ending stream of lawsuits, Strike 3 Holdings has filed another 10 file-sharing lawsuits in Colorado. They claim that each named IP address contributed to downloading or sharing the Plaintiff’s adult films, which are marketed under the brands Vixen, Tushy, Blacked, and Blacked Raw. Strike 3 Holdings is a notorious mass-filer of copyright suits and has been described as a copyright troll by Judge Lamberth of Washington, DC, who criticized Strike 3 Holdings for conducting a “high tech shakedown” and treating the court system “as an ATM.”

But how are these Plaintiffs able to file so many lawsuits across the country? One reason is because each lawsuit is virtually identical, with only the IP address and details of the observed infringements differing. They sue each IP address as a “John Doe” and then subpoena the internet service provider (ISP) to discover the name of the subscriber. Usually the defendant first finds out about the lawsuit when they receive a notice from their ISP about the subpoena and the possibility to file a motion to quash to stop the release of their identity. It is important to begin an effective defense at this stage. Securing representation early can provide you with more options to protect your identity and how to fight the allegations.

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Strike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media File 31 New Cases in Pennsylvania

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright noticesStrike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media have filed 31 new file-sharing lawsuits across Pennsylvania against anonymous internet subscribers. Strike 3 Holdings filed 25 suits, while Malibu Media filed 6. Despite being different companies, the two Plaintiffs file very similar lawsuits.

Each suit claims foreign investigators monitor BitTorrent activity and identified each IP address as downloading and sharing several of the Plaintiffs’ adult films. Strike 3 Holdings owns the rights to Vixen, Tushy, Blacked, and Blacked Raw and Malibu Media owns X-Art.  There seems to be no end to the lawsuits as unsuspecting internet subscribers find themselves caught up in what Judge Lamberth of Washington, DC described as a “high tech shakedown” where the Plaintiffs treat the court system “as an ATM.”

Because the Plaintiffs do not know who downloaded the films, they sue a “John Doe” identified only as an IP address. They then subpoena the internet service provider (ISP) to discover the name of the subscriber. Usually the defendant first finds out about the lawsuit when they receive a notice from their ISP about the subpoena and the possibility to file a motion to quash to stop the release of their identity. It is important to begin an effective defense at this stage. Securing representation early can provide you with more options to protect your identity and how to fight the allegations.

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Strike 3 Holdings Files 12 New Lawsuits in Eastern Virginia

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright noticesStrike 3 Holdings has filed another dozen file-sharing lawsuits in Eastern Virginia. They claim that foreign investigators monitor BitTorrent networks and record IP addresses associated with downloading and sharing the Plaintiff’s adult films, which are marketed under the brands Vixen, Tushy, Blacked, and Blacked Raw. Despite already filing more than 2,000 lawsuits this year, Strike 3 Holdings doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

This deluge in lawsuits has caused some judges to question the Plaintiff’s tactics and sincerity in defending their copyrights. As Judge Lamberth of Washington, DC described, Strike 3 Holdings seems to be engaging in a “high tech shakedown” that treats the court system “as an ATM.”

But how are these Plaintiffs able to file so many lawsuits across the country? One reason is because each lawsuit is virtually identical, with only the IP address and details of the observed infringements differing. They sue each IP address as a “John Doe” and then subpoena the internet service provider (ISP) to discover the name of the subscriber. Usually the defendant first finds out about the lawsuit when they receive a notice from their ISP about the subpoena and the possibility to file a motion to quash to stop the release of their identity. It is important to begin an effective defense at this stage. Securing representation early can provide you with more options to protect your identity and how to fight the allegations.

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New Jersey Hit with 44 New Lawsuits from Strike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright noticesStrike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media filed 44 new file-sharing lawsuits in New Jersey against unnamed internet subscribers. Strike 3 Holdings filed 28 suits, while Malibu Media took 3 days to file 16 additional lawsuits. These lawsuits are virtually identical and all allege foreign investigators monitored BitTorrent activity and identified each IP address as downloading several of the Plaintiffs’ adult films. Strike 3 Holdings owns the rights to Vixen, Tushy, Blacked, and Blacked Raw and Malibu Media owns the rights to X-Art.  There seems to be no end to the lawsuits as unsuspecting internet subscribers find themselves caught up in what Judge Lamberth of Washington, DC described as a “high tech shakedown” where the Plaintiffs treat the court system “as an ATM.”

Although separate companies, both Plaintiffs operate in the same way. Because the Plaintiffs do not know who downloaded the films, they sue a “John Doe” identified only through the IP address. They then subpoena the internet service provider to discover the name of the internet subscriber. Usually the defendant first finds out about the lawsuit when they receive a letter from their ISP to notify them about the subpoena and the possibility to file a motion to quash to stop the release of their identity.

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