Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Joinder Issues in BitTorrent Copyright Litigation
Over the past several years, there has been a national flurry of civil actions brought primarily by pornographic filmmakers alleging copyright infringement by individual file-sharers using the BitTorrent' computer protocol. As one federal court noted, hundreds of thousands of John Does have been sued across the county since mid-2010, with copyright holders attempting to assert claims against unknown defendants identified by their IP addresses by joining them, in large numbers, into single actions. Typically, the copyright holders allege that users illegally downloaded, reproduced and distributed at least a portion of the film at issue using BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer protocol that allows users to transfer large files on the Internet.
Some commentators have characterized such cases as “copyright trolling” ' where a copyright holder files a mass infringement suit and subpoenas identifying information for anonymous Doe defendants, intending to send demand letters and achieve prompt, small settlements rather than actually litigating the claims. At least one court has echoed this view, even imposing sanctions against the copyright holders and their attorneys for certain bad faith conduct. See Ingenuity 13 LLC v. Doe, No. 12-8333 (C.D. Cal. May 6, 2013). However, not all suits against anonymous BitTorrent users necessarily involve an improper intent or even adult film companies. See, e.g., John Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Doe 1-22, 2013 WL 1091315 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 15, 2013) (related suits over unauthorized copying and distributing of several books using BitTorrent); ReFx Audio Software, Inc. v. Does 1-82, 2013 WL 500478 (D. Colo. Feb. 13, 2013) (unauthorized distribution of software using BitTorrent).
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.