Judge dismisses movie piracy case based on IP address

In an astonishing outbreak of common sense, a federal court in Oregon has dismissed a copyright infringement case that was based entirely on the IP address of the defendant.  According to Judge Stacie Beckerman, claims of direct or indirect infringement could not be proved when the only evidence provided was an IP address, and the court has moved to dismiss this case sua sponte, which has not happened before in a US court in any movie copyright case.  Sua sponte means that the judge has come to this decision without a motion from either party involved in the case.

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The case was filed by the makers of the Adam Sandler movie, The Cobbler, and the defendant was one Thomas Gonzales, who operates an adult foster care home where any number of guests could have used the IP address to download the film.

Here are the statements made by Judge Beckerman.  “The only facts Plaintiff pleads in support of its allegation that Gonzales is the infringer, is that he is the subscriber of the IP address used to download or distribute the movie, and that he was sent notices of infringing activity to which he did not respond. That is not enough,” she writes in her recommendation.

“Plaintiff has not alleged any specific facts tying Gonzales to the infringing conduct. While it is possible that the subscriber is also the person who downloaded the movie, it is also possible that a family member, a resident of the household, or an unknown person engaged in the infringing conduct.”

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US law only requires "plausibility" to indict someone for direct or indirect infringement, but in this case, the judge ruled that there simply wasn't enough evidence to make that argument.

You can read more at TorrentFreak

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