More ‘John Doe’ Copyright Infringement Lawsuits Filed

MARTINSBURG, W. Va.—Another series of “John Doe” copyright infringement lawsuits was filed Sept. 24 by a single attorney on behalf of four adult studios.

Kenneth .J. Ford of the Martinsburg, W. Va.-based Law Office of Kenneth J. Ford filed the lawsuits in federal court in West Virginia on behalf of West Coast Productions, Combat Zone, Third World Media and Patrick Collins, Inc.

Though the complaints are as yet unavailable, the number of anonymous defendants being sued is apparently in excess of 5,000, an amount that adds significantly to the total number of John Does sued by adult studios in just the past month.

It is expected that more such lawsuits will be filed in the very near future in courthouses around the country, by producers who share the common complaint that BitTorrent users are engaged in the unauthorized viewing of copyrighted content. The plaintiffs in these cases are seeking to identify the anonymous users through subpoenas issued to their internet service providers.