CHICAGO — BitTorrent attorney John Steele since Monday has filed seven copyright suits against 260 alleged infringers of adult content at federal court in Chicago.
The new filings are remarkable because just last month U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur wrote that his court in Chicago had already “rejected attorney Steele’s efforts to shoot first and identify his targets later” in a previous case.
Shadur, who threw out that case, said Steele is running a "fishing expedition" for BitTorrent infringers.
But undeterred, Steele of WeFightPiracy.com filed two suits on Monday — one against 63 John Does, the other for 76 Does — against those who allegedly poached First Time Videos videos "Allie" and "Tiffany."
And on Tuesday, Steele filed a suit against 34 Does who infringed on a Pacific Century International Ltd. video, as well as three suits on behalf of Hard Drive Productions that target 35, 25 and 27 Does.
Steele, whose firm also has cases filed in California, told XBIZ that he's "very happy with how the [porn BitTorrent cases] are proceeding, since we are about 31-1 with discovery requests with judges."
"It would appear that now that courts have had a real chance to go through the issues, they are finding overwhelmingly in our favor," he said. "For example, there are now three court orders in the U.S. dealing with the merits of infringers motions to quash.
"All three are a complete victory for our litigation, with those judges writing extensive opinions rejecting every single argument raised by pirates," he said.
