Legal Demands and Claims of Film Copyright Infringement

Beginning in 2010 and continuing to this time, a number of law firms in locations across the country have filed suits, on behalf of independent film owners, against large numbers of unnamed or “Doe” defendants, alleging that they copied or shared films over their Internet service using “Peer-to-Peer” file sharing services. These firms assert that they identified the IP (Internet Protocol) address for computers that participate in sharing of their files. They identify these “Doe” defendants based on this asserted information.

The lawsuits have been captioned LHF (“London Has Fallen”) Productions, Inc. vs. John or Jane Doe, ME 2 (“The Mechanic II”) Productions, Inc. vs. John or Jane Doe etc.

IP address records are treated as private by most internet service providers (ISP) and are protected from disclosure, unless required by law.  In cases like those discussed above, the law firms obtain court orders or subpoenas for ISPs to turn over information identifying the customers assigned IP addresses they claim to have had infringing material on dates they specify.

If your ISP has notified you that your personal information (e.g., your name and address) is being sought in connection with a copyright infringement lawsuit, please call us if you have questions about your circumstances, rights, and options.  There are also free resources like EFF  and Nolo to assist you.

Of Greatest Importance: You should seek legal advice before you respond to any law firm regarding whether you have downloaded music, video or any work of art using Peer-to-Peer file sharing software like Bit Torrent and others providers.

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