Malibu Media and Strike 3 Holdings are continuing their bombardment of lawsuits across the country by filing another 77 Bittorrent file sharing lawsuits – in only 2 days!
Strike 3 Holdings is responsible for 67 of the John Doe lawsuits, filing 22 cases in New Jersey, 20 in New York, 15 in Connecticut, and 10 in California. During the same time period, Malibu Media filed 10 additional suits in Eastern Michigan.
It’s possible to file 6 dozen lawsuits in such a short period of time is because the allegations are so similar for each suit. The plaintiffs name an IP address they claim downloaded their adult films, list the alleged infringements, and then subpoena an identity from the Internet Service Provider. If not settled or dismissed early, the ISP is required to disclose the account holder’s identity. Unfortunately, once a defendant is named in a lawsuit, this becomes public and easily searchable online.
The United States has seen a rise in this kind of litigation as plaintiffs learn how to monetize allegations of online copyright infringement.
The online nature of the alleged infringement also presents a challenge to defendants wishing to put forth a full legal defense. Defendants often find the litigation more complicated, protracted, and expensive than a simple case of file-sharing would initially seem. However, these lawsuits shouldn’t be ignored as default judgments can easily be thousands of dollars.
My firm has been representing defendants in these kinds of cases for almost 7 years. We have helped over 600 defendants through their cases while mitigating or avoiding the potential damage of a federal copyright lawsuit.
Defendants’ first notice of a case is usually a letter from their Internet Service Provider notifying them that the Plaintiff is seeking their identity. If the case is not resolved there, the Internet Service Provider will provide the Plaintiff with the identity of the account holder and the Defendant will receive a Summons to respond in Federal District court.
If you have received a notice in one of these cases, please don’t hesitate to call me immediately at 888.801.8681. If calling after-hours, please leave a message; I do return calls after-hours.
I have years of experience defending file-sharing lawsuits and can help you achieve the best outcome possible. I have defeated several copyright plaintiffs in lawsuits around the U.S.; I also fought Malibu Media in their first trial. I’ve represented over 600 defendants in both settling and litigating file-sharing lawsuits. I’ve written a subpoena defense guide for your information, as well.
I look forward to speaking with you and helping you put this matter behind you. Please don’t hesitate to call. 888.801.8681.
Yours,
Leonard French
Connecticut
Michigan
New Jersey
New York