Partner Craig Smith Quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Article

“Adult film distributor gets $21K vs. ‘John Doe’ infringer”

Partner Craig R. Smith was quoted in a recent article in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, about Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe (1:23-cv-11443-NMG) involving an unnamed defendant accused of using BitTorrent to infringe on copyrights for 28 adult films.

While federal courts have yet to settle whether pornography is protected under copyright law, Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton granted a default judgment, awarding $21,000 in damages and injunctive relief.

This case represents one of nearly 10,000 similar lawsuits filed by the plaintiff across the country. According to the docket for the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, Strike 3 has filed more than 360 similar actions against John Doe defendants since 2022.

“This is a very lucrative area for copyright trolls,” says Craig R. Smith, an intellectual property litigator at Lando & Anastasi in Boston.

According to Smith, it’s very rare for cases like the Strike 3 cases to end up going to trial.

“The whole idea behind these cases is that you file these complaints, you then identify who the individual is through a subpoena [to their internet service provider], and then you try to settle with the person because the person does not want their name to be publicly identified,” says Smith.

Read the full article on masslawyersweekly.com. (Subscription required.)