Lodging several lawsuits in the U.S. Districts Court for the Southern District of Texas, film production companies Headhunter, LLC and Venice PI, LLC stake their claim as the current national leaders of “Troll-style” federal copyright litigation.
The Headhunter, LLC filings involve the 2016 drama flick A Family Man, which stars Willem Dafoe as a striving executive in a job placement firm struggling to balance work and family troubles. Although its production began years ago, the film was only released in theaters in late July of 2017.
The Venice PI, LLC suits are based on the 2017 action/comedy Once Upon A Time in Venice, which features Bruce Willis on a caper which ensues after his beloved pet is stolen. Described in a Variety review as a “direct-to-video-style Nineties throwback,” the reviewer also saw the possibility that the producers would seek revenue from “ancillary and streaming.” Combining a film’s lack of box office success with a likely substantial budget has been observed to be associated with significant amount of past BitTorrent copyright litigation.
Both titles are affiliated with notorious copyright enforcer Voltage Pictures, LLC, with distribution rights or co-production credits with regard to each title. Voltage Pictures is said to be the driving force behind hundreds of similar BitTorrent copyright actions that have been filed in recent years, including those related to film titles such as Dallas Buyers Club, Good Kill, The Cobbler, Fathers & Daughters, Pay the Ghost, and The Hurt Locker.
The recent suits are in addition to similar filings against hundreds of Doe defendants in many other District Courts across the nation. In each case, the plaintiffs seek statutory damages, which range from $750 minimum per work up to $150,000 (if infringements are deemed “willful”), plus injunctions against further infringement, attorney’s fees, and court costs.
Like other cases filed in the same court, these more recent Southern District filings were each made by Houston attorneys Joshua S. Wyde and/or Gary J. Fischman. Case listings with links to complaints are below.
Parties and subscribers receiving ISP notices of these actions can contact attorney Benjamin Justus for a free consultation regarding possible options.
Filed: 07/18/2017
Case No. 4:17-cv-02203
Venice PI, LLC v. Does 1-16
Filed: 07/20/2017
Case No. 4:17-cv-02244
Venice PI, LLC v. Does 1-16
Filed: 07/26/2017
Case No. 4:17-cv-02285
Venice PI, LLC v. Does 1-10
Filed: 08/01/2017
Case No. 4:17-cv-02352
Headhunter, LLC v. Does 1-17
Filed: 08/04/2017
Case No. 4:17-cv-02395
Venice PI, LLC v. Does 1-13