Malibu Media: Recent developments from California
This is a blog dedicated to updates on copyright infringement cases. We’ve represented nearly 2,000 clients across the US, and are America’s most experienced BT copyright defense firm. For more information about quashing and other options for handling your subpoena visit our Malibu Media page.
Malibu Media has filed hundreds of lawsuits in California: What that means for you.
Recent developments from a California judge may change things for Malibu Media– a Los Angeles based company that produces adult films.
Malibu Media’s Lawsuits Explained
In these cases, it’s been reported that the copyright holders sometimes use BitTorrent swarms to collect information about users’ IP addresses which is linked to a geographical location using geolocation technology. With this information, the copyright holder then attempts to obtain permission from a court to ask the ISP (or internet service provider) for the name and personal details of the user in a subpoena.
This type of subpoena is known as a “doe subpoena” which means that the defendant is identified by their IP address and remains anonymous until the court orders the ISP to provide the details of the person associated with the IP address.
Options for Your Malibu Media Lawsuit
As courts across the country are flooded with these cases one California judge is requesting Malibu Media show cause why future cases should not be barred until the accuracy of their geolocation technology is “fully-vetted.”
US Federal Judge William Alsup is concerned about their recent dismissal of numerous cases without explanation. Judge Alsup says, “Malibu Media’s voluntary dismissal without prejudice of groups of its cases is not a new pattern. A sizable portion of the cases from previous waves were terminated in the same way. The practice has just become more frequent, and it follows skepticism by the undersigned judge and others around the country about the accuracy of the Maxmind database.”
The Maxmind database maps users’ IP addresses to determine which court they belong to.
Following these recent events, the option of quashing the subpoena may be a viable choice, though this choice isn’t without risk, and many defendants choose to settle out of court or find an experienced ISP subpoena defense firm such as Antonelli Law to fight the case in court.
Quashing the subpoena essentially means that the defendant is claiming Malibu Media lacks sufficient evidence for the case. Inaccuracies with the geographical information gathered by the geolocation technology have led some cases to be filed in the wrong court and subsequently quashed. If the defendant lives in a different jurisdiction than where the lawsuit was filed, it is possible that quashing the subpoena is a viable option.
Is this the right option for you? Make sure you discuss it for free, anonymously, with Antonelli Law.
Contact us today at 312-201-8310 to further discuss the options for your Malibu Media case.
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About Author
JAntonelli
Jeffrey Antonelli is a member of the federal trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois and is admitted to numerous federal courts around the country. He has been a civil litigator nearly 25 years in a broad range of actions representing corporations and individuals as plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal court. Jeffrey has been interviewed by the media many times, including Bloomberg BNA, NBC, The New York Times, Chicago Lawyer, Chicago Tribune, and the longstanding lawyer’s publication Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Prior to forming Antonelli Law Ltd. in 2007 Jeffrey worked for several litigation boutiques in Chicago’s Loop as well as a full service firm. His litigation experience includes hotly contested issues in intellectual property, business, insurance, and consumer fraud. He is an adviser to the Illinois Board of Higher Education Advisory Council for Private Business and Vocational Schools (PBVS), and was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Education Law Section Council from 2012-2013. Jeffrey is especially proud of his work representing hundreds of students defrauded by improperly accredited educational institutions, including as certified class counsel. Before attending law school, Jeffrey was interested first in business, and then in biomedical ethics. These interests led him to graduate from the nation’s largest philosophy department at Loyola University in Chicago, where some of his favorite (and most challenging) subjects were cognitive science and philosophy of science. During college he held positions at the University of Chicago’s Ben May Institute; as a medical assistant for a University of Chicago foot and ankle surgeon; and volunteered in the emergency room at the University of Chicago Hospitals. These experiences led to studying health law at the DePaul College of Law where Jeffrey earned his law degree and a certificate in health law. At that time DePaul’s Institute for Health Law was consistently ranked in the top 10 health law specialty programs nationwide. During law school Jeffrey immersed himself in studying the practical and public policy aspects of health care through internships at the American Medical Association in Chicago, and on Capitol Hill at the Governmental Relations Office of the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, DC. Jeffrey has concentrated in civil litigation throughout his legal career, and is a member of the federal trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois, the Central District of Illinois federal court, and all federal courts of Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. In addition, he is a member of the DuPage County Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. Jeffrey prides himself on his strong personal ideals, passionate, ethical advocacy, and working hard to bring the best possible results for his clients. He also maintains a special interest in cases involving fraud. Whether due to good parenting, his family’s law enforcement employment, undergraduate studies in philosophy including ethics, or a fortuitous outcome of good breeding, one essence of Jeffrey’s character is a drive to root out the truth behind fraudulent practices.