BitTorrent Subpoena & Lawsuit Defense

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Leonard J. French

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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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