Tracking Northern District of Illinois IP Cases
Malibu Media, LLC v. Does 1-68, No. 12 C 6675, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Sep. 27, 2013) (Lee, J.).
Malibu Media, LLC v. Does 1-42, No. 12 C 6677, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Sep. 27, 2013) (Lee, J.).
Judge Lee granted various Doe defendants motion to sever their cases as unrelated, denied motions …
The Thompsons Film, LLC v. Does 1-60, Slip Op. 13 C 2368 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 6, 2013) (Gottschall, J.).
Judge Gottschall denied two Doe defendants’ motions to quash subpoenas to their respective ISPs seeking, among other things, their identities based upon their IP addresses in this BitTorrent copyright case. The Court held that a …
Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe, No. 14 C 693, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Feb. 7, 2014) (Shadur, Sen. J.).
Judge Shadur sua sponte ordered plaintiff Malibu Media to serve a courtesy copy of its copyright complaint on the Court in compliance with Local Rule 5.2(f) and the Court’s website. Malibu Media also was ordered …
TCYK, LLC v. Does 1-88, No. 13 C 3828, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. June 24, 2013) (Guzman, J.).
Judge Guzman sua sponte severed Does 2-88 pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 20 & 21 in this Bit Torrent copyright case. Because the Does were not all part of the same “swarm” at the same …
Malibu Media, LLC v. Reynolds, No. 12 C 6672, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Mar. 7, 2013) (Kendall, J.).
Judge Kendall: 1) denied defendant Doe 15’s motion to dismiss; 2) denied Doe 15’s motion to quash the subpoena of Doe 15’s internet provider; 3) granted Doe 15’s unopposed motion to remain anonymous; and 4) severed …
Sunlust Pictures, LLC v. Does 1-75, No. 12 C 1546, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Aug. 27, 2012) (Tharp, J.).
Judge Tharp denied Doe defendant’s motion to quash a subpoena seeking his identifying information from his cable provider in this BitTorrent copyright case, but allowed the Doe to proceed in the suit using a pseudonym. …
AF Holdings LLC v. Doe, No. 12 C 4244, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Jun. 5, 2012) (Shadur, Sen. J.).
Judge Shadur sua sponte gave plaintiff AF Holdings ten days to provide a further showing justifying its suit against an anonymous John Doe in this copyright infringement suit. The Court explained that Doe cases were…
Pacific Century Int’l. v. Does 1-31, No. 11 C 9064, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Jun. 12, 2012) (Leinenweber, J.).
Judge Leinenweber granted plaintiff Pacific Century International’s (“PCI”) Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(c)(2)(B) motion to compel subpoena compliance, in this BitTorrent copyright suit. The subpoena sought identifying information from Comcast for certain of its internet …
Judge Manning dismissed plaintiff Millenium TGA’s case against a Doe defendant identified by its computer IP address (“Doe”) for lack of personal jurisdiction. Doe was not an Illinois resident. And Millenium TGA offered no proof that Doe’s actions in allegedly using Bit Torrent to download copyrighted video files were targeted at Illinois. Being part of a Bit Torrent “swarm” that downloaded a video did not rise to the level of targeting Illinois.
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Continue Reading Swarming Does Not Create Jurisdiction
First Time Videos, LLC v. Does 1-76, No. 11 C 3831, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Aug. 16, 2011) (Bucklo, J.).
Judge Bucklo denied the Doe defendants’ various motions to quash or dismiss in this BitTorrent copyright infringement case. Plaintiff First Time Video (“FTV”) alleged that the seventy-six Doe defendants infringed plaintiff’s copyright in an adult movie using BitTorrent and in so doing engaged in a civil conspiracy. The Court denied each motion:
· While file-sharers have limited first amendment rights, those rights do not shelter copyright infringement.
· FTV sufficiently described the alleged copyrighted work by naming the movie in the complaint.
· Joinder of the seventy-six Does was proper. FTV alleged that the Does acted in concert to copy one video over several months as part of a BitTorrent “swarm.” And the case involved common legal questions regarding copyright law.
· The Court recognized that other Northern District judges had severed all of the Doe defendants. Those cases, however, involved many more Does, and did not show a connection to Illinois. FTV alleged that it had traced the accused IP addresses to Illinois using geo-location technology.
· FTV’s personal jurisdiction allegations – that FTV traced the Doe IP addresses to Illinois – were also sufficient.
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Continue Reading Shared Downloading of a Movie Makers Joinder
