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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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Strike 3 Holdings Floods New York with 45 New Lawsuits in just 2 Days

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright noticesStrike 3 Holdings has flooded New York with 45 new copyright infringement lawsuits. New York is not the only state to be blanketed with suits, as Strike 3 Holdings has filed more than 150 cases in the past week. 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.”

How is Strike 3 Holdings able to file more than 20 lawsuits a day for an entire week? The Plaintiff uses boiler plate lawsuits that allege unnamed defendants, called John Does, have committed copyright infringement by downloading Strike 3 Holdings’ films through BitTorrent networks. The only thing that differs between lawsuits is the IP address and list of alleged copyright infringements. Strike 3 Holdings films are marketed under the brands Vixen, Tushy, Blacked, and Blacked Raw.

Once the lawsuit is filed, Strike 3 Holdings asks to subpoena the internet service provider (ISP) in order to get the name of the account holder of the IP address. Internet subscribers usually first find out about the lawsuit when they receive a notice of the subpoena from their ISP stating they need to file a Motion to Quash in order to stop the release of their information.

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Strike 3 Holdings File 13 New Lawsuits in Connecticut in One Day

Reddit user /u/beardfearer may fear beards, but not copyright noticesStrike 3 Holdings mass filed 13 new file sharing lawsuits in Connecticut on November 28. These lawsuits allege unnamed defendants, identified only by their IP address, have committed copyright infringement by downloading Strike 3 Holdings’ films through BitTorrent networks. This Plaintiff is known for mass-filing cookie-cutter lawsuits across the country with bare bones allegations of copyright infringement in order to demand thousands of dollars in settlement payments.

The reason why one company can be so prolific is because every lawsuit is almost identical. Each defendant is an unnamed internet subscriber, known as a John Doe. Strike 3 alleges an investigative company has observed each IP address contributing to downloading and sharing their copyrighted adult films, marketed under the Vixen, Tushy, Blacked, and Blacked Raw brands.

Once the lawsuit is filed, Strike 3 Holdings asks to subpoena the internet service provider (ISP) in order to get the name of the account holder of the IP address. Internet subscribers usually first find out about the lawsuit when they receive a notice of the subpoena from their ISP stating they need to file a Motion to Quash in order to stop the release of their information.

Although downloading through BitTorrent may feel commonplace, the lawsuits against alleged downloaders are serious and represent potentially thousands of dollars in damages per infringement. When multiple infringements are alleged, damages granted by the court can easily escalate into 10’s or 100’s of thousands of dollars. This makes an early and effective defense against these suits all the more important. For more information on what these lawsuits mean for internet subscribers, please check out our FAQ section.

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