New Jersey

September 21, 2018 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media File 90+ Lawsuits Over 3 Days

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright notices Strike 3 Holdings, joined by Malibu Media, continue to mass file copyright lawsuits against John Doe internet subscribers they allege downloaded their copyrighted material through BitTorrent networks. Over 3 days, Strike 3 Holdings filed 85 lawsuits in California (26 cases), Florida (3 cases), New Jersey (26 cases), and New York (30 cases). Malibu Media filed an additional 6 cases in Illinois (3 cases) and Michigan (3 cases). These case are in addition to 83 similar lawsuits already filed in the first half of September.

Although Malibu Media and Strike 3 Holdings are separate companies that own separate brands (Malibu Media owns the rights to X-Art brand films and Strike 3 Holdings owns rights to Tushy, Vixen, Blacked, and Blacked Raw), the two Plaintiffs are very similar in their approach. They both hire investigators to monitor Bittorrent networks and record the IP addresses of people allegedly downloading their copyrighted material. They then sue the subscriber associated with the IP address. However, in order to properly serve the defendant, they subpoena the identity of the subscriber from the Internet Service Provider.

Although these lawsuits are filed regularly, they are serious for the defendant. The Plaintiffs consider each alleged infringement as worth $1,000s in damages if they win in court.

September 19, 2018 by Leonard J. French

Malibu Media and Strike 3 Holdings File 140 More BitTorrent Lawsuits

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright notices Malibu Media and Strike 3 Holdings continue to blanket the country in copyright lawsuits against John Doe internet subscribers they allege downloaded their copyrighted material through BitTorrent networks. September has already seen 83 lawsuits filed by Malibu Media and another 57 by Strike 3 Holdings. Malibu Media has filed 5 lawsuits in Connecticut, 8 in Maryland, 16 in Michigan, 11 in New Jersey, 22 in New York, 13 in Pennsylvania, 8 in Texas, and 8 in Virginia. During the same time period, Strike 3 Holdings filed 8 lawsuits in Connecticut, 6 in Florida, 9 in Illinois, 24 in Michigan, and 10 in New York.

Although Malibu Media and Strike 3 Holdings are separate companies that own separate brands (Malibu Media owns the rights to X-Art brand films and Strike 3 Holdings owns rights to Tushy, Vixen, Blacked, and Blacked Raw), the two Plaintiffs are very similar in their approach. They begin by identifying an IP address they claim participated in downloading and sharing of their films through Bittorrent and then sue the unnamed account holder as a John Doe. As they only have an IP address, they ask the courts to subpoena the defendant’s identity from the Internet Service Provider (ISP) so the defendant can be formally served.

August 23, 2018 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media File More than 50 New Lawsuits

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright notices Strike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media have filed another 54 lawsuits across the country against John Does, accusing them of downloading their adult films using Bittorrent. This brings the total to more than 340 lawsuits filed in August – averaging more than a dozen lawsuits every day. For this latest round, Strike 3 Holdings has filed 18 cases in California and 5 cases in Pennsylvania. Malibu Media filed another 10 cases in Maryland, 3 in Michigan, and 18 in New Jersey.

Normally, it would be extremely difficult to file hundreds of lawsuits against individuals in less than a month, however, Strike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media file nearly identical suits each time. They begin by identifying an IP address they claim participated in downloading and sharing of their films through Bittorrent and then sue the unnamed account holder as a John Doe. As they only have an IP address, they then ask the courts to subpoena the defendant’s identity from the Internet Service Provider so the defendant can be formally served.

Defendants usually first learn they are being sued when they receive a letter from their ISP that informs them the plaintiff has requested their identity. Because federal civil lawsuits are generally public record and easily searchable, many defendants wish to remain anonymous to minimize the suit’s affect on their private and professional lives. If a defendant wishes to remain anonymous, it is vital they retain counsel without delay.

New Jersey

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