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All Malibu Media Subpoenas In Eastern District NY Put On Hold

Posted by Soulskill on from the not-buying-it dept.

NewYorkCountryLawyer sends an update on the progress of Malibu Media, the company that filed subpoenas and copyright lawsuits over alleged BitTorrent piracy of pornography films: A federal Magistrate Judge in Central Islip, New York, has just placed all Malibu Media subpoenas in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and Staten Island on hold indefinitely, due to "serious questions" raised by a motion to quash (PDF) filed in one of them. Judge Steven Locke's 4-page Order and Decision (PDF) cited the defendant's arguments that "(i) the common approach for identifying allegedly infringing BitTorrent users, and thus the Doe Defendant, is inconclusive; (ii) copyright actions, especially those involving the adult film industry, are susceptible to abusive litigation practices; and (iii) Malibu Media in particular has engaged in abusive litigation practices" as being among the reasons for his issuance of the stay.

4 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. I have actually filed a DMCA takedown by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 3, Informative

    It was on behalf of a local author who presented to my user group with a sad little short story. After having published a children's book through Amazon (trade paperback POD, not Kindle) which became popular, some site in the UK popped up with a scanned copy of her book offered for sale. This is apparently a common scam targeting both print and online authors. We filed a takedown, and the pirated content was gone the next day.

    DMCA works internationally in "notice and takedown" countries, which include the EU. It's by treaty, somewhat like extradition.

  2. Re:Thanks for this, NYCL! by sconeu · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you want to know about the merits of the practices that Malibu Media use, go to Ars, Techdirt, or Popehat and search for "Prenda Law".

    Hint. There ARE NO merits to their practices.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  3. Re:Thanks for this, NYCL! by NewYorkCountryLawyer · · Score: 4, Informative

    The decision isn't about what is or is not copyright infringement. It's about whether you can sue somebody without any evidence that they did in fact commit a copyright infringement.

    --
    Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
  4. Re:No by tehcyder · · Score: 3, Informative

    Another way to say it is that if you haven't made your money on it within 5 years, you almost certainly never will.

    Not all artistic works have the short life of a Hollywood blockbuster or Top 10 music track.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it