dunlap grubb & weaver

Few film companies are assailing piracy with the vigor of Third World Media.

Third World Media (TMW), a porn studio headquartered north of Los Angeles, filed a lawsuit two weeks ago against 1,568 unnamed individuals, accusing them of using peer-to-peer networks to unlawfully share copies of "Miss Big Ass Brazil #4," records show.

"Each of the defendant's acts of infringement have been willful, intentional, and in disregard of...the rights of plaintiff," TWM's attorneys wrote in their filing of October 4.

The suit came just two weeks after TWM filed a similar complaint against an additional 1,243 … Read more

Suing file sharers for copyright violations is becoming popular.

Add X-rated film studios to the list of indie movie makers and large music labels that try litigation as an antipiracy measure. Kenneth Ford, a West Virginia attorney, and his company, Adult Copyright Co., have begun to file copyright complaints on behalf of X-rated film studios.

Ford has filed seven suits on behalf of four studios so far and named more than 5,000 defendants. He appears to be following the lead of Thomas Dunlap, co-founder of Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver, a law firm that has undertaken copyright litigation for about … Read more

This man may soon know your name.

Thomas Dunlap is the attorney representing at least a dozen independent movie studios, including the makers of the Oscar-winning film, "The Hurt Locker." If you illegally shared any of his clients' films online then Dunlap, a founder of the law firm Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver may have collected your Internet Protocol address. He may, at this minute, be requesting a subpoena that compels your Internet service provider to turn over your identity.

Dunlap and his firm, which also operates as U.S. Copyright Group, will then likely file a copyright complaint … Read more

The Web probably looks a lot less anonymous and private to the thousands of people whose identities were posted to the Internet this weekend alongside the names of the pornographic films they are accused of downloading.

ACS: Law, a law firm based in Great Britain that tracks down alleged illegal file sharers for the porn industry, saw its database compromised over the weekend caused by members of the Internet forum 4chan. In addition to private e-mails and financial data belonging to the law firm, the names of people whom ACS: Law has accused of downloading unauthorized copies of porn movies … Read more

A federal magistrate judge in South Dakota has denied an attempt by the producers of the Oscar-winning film "The Hurt Locker" to obtain the identities of 143 accused illegal file sharers from their Internet service provider.

The judge's decision last week however likely means only a temporary delay for Voltage Pictures, the independent studio which made "The Hurt Locker."

Voltage is one of more than a dozen indie studios that have hired the Washington, D.C., law firm of Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver to file copyright complaints against as many as 50,000 individuals they … Read more

For people worried that they may be accused of illegally sharing "The Hurt Locker," a movie about defusing bombs, the hope was that efforts to chase them down would fizzle out.

No such luck. The film's producers are finally moving to acquire the names of people they accuse of using peer-to-peer services to share unauthorized copies of the movie that won this year's Oscar for "Best Picture." Qwest Communications on Monday notified a customer in Denver that the Internet service provider has received a subpoena from lawyers representing Voltage Pictures, the production company that … Read more

An Internet service provider based in South Dakota is refusing to turn over information belonging to 143 customers accused of illegally sharing the Oscar-winning film, "The Hurt Locker."

In federal court on Monday, Midcontinent Communications filed a motion to quash a subpoena received from Voltage Pictures, the film's producers, who allege some of the ISP's customers used peer-to-peer services to pilfer unauthorized copies of its movie. Voltage seeks to require Midcontinent to identify those customers as well as turn over their home addresses, phone numbers, and other data.

Midcontinent's lawyers told the court that the … Read more

Anyone who fears being sued on suspicion of pirating the Oscar-winning film "The Hurt Locker" can likely relax, at least for a little while.

The law firm representing Voltage Pictures, the producers of the Iraq war film, is suing people suspected of being illegal file sharers but is being delayed by watchdog groups.

Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver, which is filing copyright complaints on behalf of at least a dozen independent filmmakers, including Voltage, was in a Washington, D.C., court last week, where a federal judge instructed the law firm to help create a new way of notifying … Read more

The file-sharing community has gone on the offensive in its court fight with the makers of the Oscar-winning film "The Hurt Locker."

Jeff Kowalski, 28, filed an "Answer" to the complaint laid against 5,000 as yet unnamed people who the film's producers allege have shared the movie illegally via peer-to-peer services.

"Defendant Mr. Kowalski requests that Plaintiff's complaint be dismissed," Kowalski wrote earlier this month to U.S. District for the District of Columbia.

One of the problems with Kowalski's legal claims, however, is that he can't know whether … Read more