Illinois has recently been hit with 33 BitTorrent lawsuits from Strike 3 Holdings (15 cases), Malibu Media (14 cases), and Bodyguard Productions (4 cases). Although each company is separate and owns the rights to different films, all the lawsuits are similar. They allege that investigators monitor BitTorrent traffic and have recorded IP addresses as infringing on their copyright by downloading and sharing their films. Strike 3 Holdings owns the rights to Vixen, Tushy, Blacked; Malibu Media owns the rights to X-Art films; and Bodyguard Productions owns the rights to the 2017 film “The Hitman’s Bodyguard”. Bodyguard Productions differs from Strike 3 Holdings and Malibu Media in that they sue multiple IP addresses per lawsuit. So, although they filed 4 lawsuits in Illinois, they actually name 51 IP addresses.
These are known as John Doe lawsuits because they do not directly name the defendant, instead referring to an IP address and then using the court to subpoena the identities from the various internet service providers (e.g., Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner, Optimum Online, etc.). Most people discover the lawsuit when they receive a notice from their ISP stating the subscriber’s identity has been subpoenaed and the subscriber must file a Motion to Quash in order to prevent the release of their information. Motions to Quash in these cases are complex because the subpoena is between the Plaintiff and the ISP, meaning the subscriber is a third party.
Once the Plaintiff has the identity of the subscriber, they amend their complaint to name the subscriber (or, perhaps an adult male in the household). Federal lawsuits are easily searched by the public and may come up in public search engine results. Many people prefer to remain anonymous and not be publicly named (whether they are liable for the infringements or not). In order to help ensure your anonymity, it’s important to retain counsel without delay.
These notices are serious. If you do not respond, your ISP is obligated to provide your identity to the Plaintiff, which allows them to serve you with a summons and complaint. Once you are served, you typically have 21 days to respond in Federal court. If you do not respond to the complaint in court, the Plaintiff can ask for a default judgement, where damages can be in the $1,000s per infringement plus attorneys fees and costs.
For more information on what these lawsuits mean for internet subscribers, please check out our FAQ section.
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 with your name, number, and case number; 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
[su_spoiler title=”The 15 new Strike 3 Holdings lawsuits in Illinois are:” style=”modern-orange”][su_list icon=”icon: legal”]
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 98.223.219.242 case 1:19-cv-00491 filed 2019-01-24
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 98.228.218.164 case 1:19-cv-00492 filed 2019-01-24
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 64.53.161.163 case 1:19-cv-00494 filed 2019-01-24
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe case 1:19-cv-01243 filed 2019-02-19
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe subscriber assigned IP address 107.201.57.238 case 1:19-cv-01246 filed 2019-02-19
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe case 1:19-cv-01248 filed 2019-02-19
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe subscriber assigned IP address 107.215.128.215 case 1:19-cv-01249 filed 2019-02-19
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 108.254.174.174 case 1:19-cv-01289 filed 2019-02-21
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 99.149.85.123 case 1:19-cv-01292 filed 2019-02-21
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 24.15.122.234 case 1:19-cv-01293 filed 2019-02-21
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 73.209.246.230 case 1:19-cv-01295 filed 2019-02-21
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 64.53.236.124 case 1:19-cv-01353 filed 2019-02-25
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 98.206.222.21 case 1:19-cv-01348 filed 2019-02-25
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 73.36.202.219 case 1:19-cv-01344 filed 2019-02-25
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. DOE subscriber assigned IP address 73.8.25.95 case 1:19-cv-01346 filed 2019-02-25
[/su_list][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”The 14 new Strike 3 Holdings lawsuits in Illinois are:” style=”modern-orange”][su_list icon=”icon: legal”]
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 76.217.228.163 case 1:19-cv-01958 filed 2019-03-21
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 73.72.222.113 case 1:19-cv-01957 filed 2019-03-21
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 67.175.64.176 case 1:19-cv-01956 filed 2019-03-21
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 67.173.172.159 case 1:19-cv-01955 filed 2019-03-21
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 99.103.41.140 case 1:19-cv-01896 filed 2019-03-19
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 205.178.47.169 case 1:19-cv-01890 filed 2019-03-19
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 73.111.228.162 case 1:19-cv-01895 filed 2019-03-19
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 71.239.218.125 case 1:19-cv-01894 filed 2019-03-19
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 162.195.236.23 case 1:19-cv-01888 filed 2019-03-19
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 24.12.196.155 case 1:19-cv-01892 filed 2019-03-19
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 65.119.181.2 case 1:19-cv-01893 filed 2019-03-19
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 73.44.109.250 case 1:19-cv-01679 filed 2019-03-11
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 76.16.71.28 case 1:19-cv-01680 filed 2019-03-11
- Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, subscriber assigned IP address 73.22.40.44 case 1:19-cv-01678 filed 2019-03-11
[/su_list][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”The 4 new Bodyguard Production lawsuits in Illinois are:” style=”modern-orange”][su_list icon=”icon: legal”]
- Bodyguard Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-14 case 1:19-cv-01642 filed 2019-03-08
- Bodyguard Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-13 case 1:19-cv-01640 filed 2019-03-08
- Bodyguard Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-11 case 1:19-cv-01641 filed 2019-03-08
- Bodyguard Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-13 case 1:19-cv-01644 filed 2019-03-08
[/su_list][/su_spoiler]