New Jersey

August 31, 2020 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings Files Over 230 Federal Cases Across the Country

Strike 3 Holdings has filed 234 new Federal copyright infringement lawsuits across the country since mid-May, including in California (75 cases), Connecticut (3 cases), Florida (7 cases), Illinois (1 case), Maryland (27 cases), New Jersey (36 cases), New York (49 cases), Pennsylvania (17 cases), and Virginia (18 cases).

Each case is nearly identical. Strike 3 alleges that their investigators have recorded an IP address downloading Vixen, Tushy, and/or Blacked films through BitTorrent networks, and are now suing the internet subscribers for copyright infringement. Statutory damages are a minimum of $750 per infringement, which the Plaintiff can argue should be increased for “willful” infringement. Given that each case involves dozens, if not hundreds, of alleged infringements, even minimum damages can still be tens of thousands of dollars.

Many of these cases represent an internet subscriber that has fought against Strike 3’s original subpoena in Miami-Dade county court. Although Strike 3 initially dismisses this defendant from their complaint, they soon file a lawsuit in Federal court for a second subpoena. This time, the case is usually filed in the correct court, making another Motion to Quash a more complicated matter.

Strike 3 is notoriously aggressive in their pursuit of these cases. If you’ve received a notice from your internet service provider, such as Comcast, Frontier Communications, Optimum Online, RCN, Spectrum, or Webpass, please contact me. I can explain you options for defense and recommend the best way forward for your situation.

August 30, 2020 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings Demands Nearly 600 Identities in August

Strike 3 Holdings continues to barrage the Miami-Dade county court with requests for subpoenas for the identities of internet subscribers they claim have downloaded their films through BitTorrent networks. Strike 3 Holdings owns the brands Vixen, Tushy, and Blacked. In August alone, they filed 6 complaints (called Bills of Pure Discovery) and listed 593 IP addresses from a variety of internet service providers from across the country, including AT&T U-verse, Comcast, Frontier Communications, Optimum Online, RCN, Spectrum, and Webpass. Almost half of the IP addresses listed are from California (285), with a mixture of defendants from Connecticut (15), Washington, DC (11), Florida (18), Illinois (36), Maryland (26), Michigan (29), New Jersey (46), New York (101), Pennsylvania (20), and Virginia (6).

These subpoenas are serious and the first step in initiating a Federal lawsuit. Typically Strike 3 Holdings has investigators that monitor an IP address for months or even years, documenting every BitTorrent download. They typically wait until enough infringements have accrued from an IP address to be worth significant damages. In August, the number of alleged infringements ranged from 24 to 342. The Plaintiff sees each infringement as worth $750 in statutory damages, although they may ask the court for more to punish “willful” infringement. If they win in court, they may also be awarded attorneys’ fees and court costs, which further adds to how expensive these cases can become.

Notably, Strike 3 is demanding these subpoenas through Florida county court, where they can take advantage of a little-known type of complaint called a Bill of Pure Discovery. Many defendants are tempted to file Motions to Quash in order to protect their identities from being released, arguing that the Miami-Dade court is not the proper venue for copyright actions nor for defendants outside of Florida. However, Strike 3 doesn’t seem to stop going after defendants that ask for a Motion to Quash and simply refile the lawsuit in Federal court and become more aggressive.

Sometimes, filing a Motion to Quash is still advantageous. I’ve defended hundreds of cases against Strike 3 Holdings across the country, both in negotiating settlements and litigating in court. If you’ve received a notice from Comcast Communications and you’re considering a Motion to Quash, settling, or fighting in court, please call us at 888.801.8681 or email. Please have your case number and IP address ready. We’re happy to explain your options for defense and recommend the best way forward.

July 19, 2020 by Leonard J. French

Strike 3 Holdings Demands Nearly 300 Identities

Strike 3 Holdings seems to have no shortage of potential defendants to their BitTorrent-based piracy lawsuits. On July 7th and 8th, Strike 3 Holdings filed 3 lawsuits with a total of 287 IP addresses identified from Atlantic Broadband, AT&T U-verse, Optimum Online, Spectrum, RCN, Comcast, and Webpass. Each IP address could become a defendant in a Federal copyright lawsuit if Strike 3 Holdings decides to pursue the case in court. They own the rights to the Vixen, Tushy, and Blacked brands of adult films and are prolific filers of copyright infringement lawsuits.

These subpoenas are serious and the first step in initiating a Federal lawsuit. Typically Strike 3 Holdings has investigators that monitor an IP address for months or even years, documenting every BitTorrent download. They typically wait until enough infringements have accrued from an IP address to be worth significant damages. In the 3 most recent lawsuits, the number of alleged infringements ranged from 25 to 383. The Plaintiff sees each infringement as worth $750 in statutory damages, which they may ask the court to treble to $2,250 for “willful” infringement. These are very expensive cases to lose in court.

Normally, Strike 3 would have to file a Federal lawsuit against each individual IP address, however, they have shifted strategy and are now using an obscure type of complaint in Florida’s Miami-Dade county court called a Bill of Pure Discovery. Many defendants are tempted to file Motions to Quash in order to protect their identities from being released, arguing that the Miami-Dade court is not the proper venue for copyright actions nor for defendants outside of Florida. For example, these 3 most recent lawsuits contain IP addresses geolocated to California, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Virginia, in addition to Florida. However, Strike 3 doesn’t seem to stop going after defendants that ask for a Motion to Quash and simply refile the lawsuit in Federal court and become more aggressive.

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