Porn studio sues 7,098 alleged film pirates
In a move sure to outrage both file-sharers on BitTorrent networks and legal watchdogs, a well-known pornographer has filed a US federal copyright suit against 7,098 individuals.
Axel Braun Productions lodged the complaint on Friday in US District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, alleging that the defendants illegally shared the adult film Batman XXX: A Porn Parody. The film was written and directed by Axel Braun and distributed by Vivid Entertainment, one of the country's best-known porn studios.
The large number of defendants named in a single lawsuit is likely to be condemned by leaders at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group for web users and tech companies. EFF leaders have taken a stand against grouping thousands of separate defendants in a single complaint. In an interview two weeks ago, Cindy Cohn, EFF's legal director, told CNET News: "If you lump a bunch of people together, it's harder for each individual to have their case heard and evaluated on the merits."
For more on this story, read Porn maker sues 7,098 alleged film pirates on CNET News.