A collective of filmmakers is taking aim at some of the globe’s biggest Internet Service Providers. They’re targeting them for their alleged part in copyright infringement.
As initially unveiled by TorrentFreak, Voltage Pictures has initiated legal action. The lawsuits are against Verizon, AT&T, and now Comcast. Voltage Pictures believes these companies are guilty of contributory copyright infringement.
Voltage Pictures is the production company behind several well-known films. These include titles such as The Bird Catcher, Dallas Buyers Club, and Room 203.
The company contends that the service providers have failed to act. They haven’t terminated subscribers who have been repeatedly flagged for copyright violations.
In their lawsuit against Comcast, Voltage makes a specific claim. They argue the media giant failed to take measures against individuals downloading illegal content. The downloads occur through torrent sites.
This mirrors the position taken by Voltage in their lawsuits against Verizon and AT&T.
All three companies have established policies. These policies state that multiple copyright infringements will lead to service termination.
However, the plaintiffs believe Comcast and other service providers don’t adhere to these policies. They fear losing revenue.
Comcast has the authority to stop providing internet services to a customer at any time. They can halt services to customer accounts repeatedly engaging in piracy. Comcast doesn’t even have to identify these repeat offenders themselves. Copyright holders, such as Voltage Pictures, do it for them. They send copyright infringement notices, but Comcast doesn’t act…
the lawsuit states.
Voltage Pictures and its affiliates have sent Comcast over three hundred thousand infringement notices. They’re the producers of movies like Dallas Buyers Club and I Feel Pretty. Just within the past few years, Comcast users have pirated Voltage’s movies over a million times.
The lawsuit further alleges that Comcast frequently neglects a crucial step. They often fail to even forward infringement notices to the offending customers.
The complaint provides specific instances. It highlights cases where users were flagged numerous times without facing service termination.
One IP Address was reported 782 times, while another received 626 reports. Several others had over 370 notices related to copyright infringement.
The lawsuit also takes issue with Comcast’s policy on terminating repeat infringers.
Comcast’s policy was flawed. They only considered the DMCA notifications for a customer account within each month, not the total number across months. This meant Comcast wouldn’t terminate an account with a high number of infringements over time. As long as it wasn’t concentrated in a single month, they wouldn’t act,
You can access the full complaint against Comcast through the link provided below.
Voltage Holdings LLC vs Comcast Cable Communications
Voltage alleges that because Comcast fails to take appropriate action against infringing customers, they are liable. The plaintiffs accuse them of contributory and vicarious copyright infringement.
The lawsuit also makes a demand of the service providers. Voltage wants them to block access to various streaming sites listed in a specific report. It’s the USTR’s Notorious Foreign Markets report.
This same demand was present in the filmmakers’ lawsuits against both Verizon and AT&T. You can access those documents below.
Voltage Holdings LLC vs Verizon Communications Inc.
Voltage Holdings LLC vs AT&T Inc.
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