Piracy war against Popcorn Time continues over second mediocre film

We recently wrote a piece on a film studio's attempts to track down and sue the 11 unfortunate Oregonian souls who watched an Adam Sandler film on the Popcorn Time application. It would seem that one lawsuit isn't enough there, as a second suit, entitled Survivor Productions Inc. v. Anonymous Users of Popcorn Time (Does 1-16), has been filed against 16 as of yet unnamed Comcast subscribers who allegedly watched Pierce Brosnan's not-James-Bond spy thriller Survivor on the service.

Popcorn Time was designed to be an easier to use version of BitTorrent specifically created to stream films. It comes complete with a Netflix-like interface.

According to the complaint, "the fight against counterfeiting and piracy are critical issues of importance to the both the United States of America and the State of Oregon," adding that, "Popcorn Time exists for one purpose and one purpose only: to steal copyrighted content."

While its design makes it an easy to use platform for piracy, it's difficult to target and prosecute individual users by nature of its anonymous structure. This lawsuit is filed by the same attorney who filed the case for Adam Sandler's film The Cobbler. In an email, the attorney claims his client only seeks the statutory minimum for damages: $750, hoping that this will serve a deterrent for future infringements.

Survivor was almost universally panned by critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 8 percent. 

If you are in the middle of a copyright dispute in the state of Arizona, or if you think someone else is profiting from your work, it is important to speak with a skilled business attorney. A lawyer can help protect your rights in case of litigation.

Categorised in: Intellectual Property Law

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