If you downloaded the Academy-Award-winning film The Hurt Locker in the past two years, things are really turning out to be a hassle for you.
That’s because Voltage Pictures, makers of the film, keep going after BitTorrent users.
According to court documents obtained by TorrentFreak, Voltage Pictures is back and ready to sue 2.514 more people, adding to their already-record-setting numbers when it comes to file-sharing lawsuits. This complaint was filed in Florida, and targets customers of a single ISP, Charter Communications.
This looks like the same script we’ve seen in the past. Voltage files a complaint with thousands of John Doe IP addresses, and eventually hopes that the ISP will turn over their real identities. “Plaintiff believes that information obtained in discovery will lead to the identification fo each Defendant’s true name and permit Plaintiff to amend this complaint to state the same.” So there you go. As Ernesto at TorrentFreak points out, it’s possible that Voltage Pictures are going after one single ISP because they won’t put up a fight when it comes to giving up subscriber info.
About two years ago, Voltage Pictures begun the suing bonanza, targeting 5,000 alleged copyright infringers who downloaded The Hurt Locker. Last May they expanded the scope of that suit to include 24,583 defendants. At the time, it broke the previous record for largest file-sharing suit ever – held by the 23,000-person lawsuit that targeted downloaders of the action flick The Expendables.
The M.O. for the Plaintiffs here is first obtaining the user records from the ISP, then offering each a settlement in the $3,000 range. Many people will simply pay the money to avoid any further complications. This is how the studios say they are recouping their piracy-related losses.
You can check out the full complaint below:
And here’s the list of defendants, just in case you’re a Charter Communications customer and want to check:
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