PTG Nevada, LLC, the owner of copyrights to the recent Nicholas Cage film Pay the Ghost, has filed several copyright infringement lawsuits in federal court in Oregon. These appear to be the first such lawsuits in the U.S.
Pay the Ghost was released in September and widely panned in critical reviews. Variety‘s reviewer concluded that “this somnolent supernatural thriller is a low-energy wash from start to finish,” while RogerEbert.com gave it one star.
The lawsuits, each against a single Doe party, seek statutory damages pursuant to the Copyright Act, attorney’s fees and costs, and an injunction against further infringement. Along with generic allegations of BitTorrent-based copyright infringement, the suits also state that “PTG comes to court seeking relief as the motion picture Pay The Ghost, once released, became one of the top 10 most trafficked films in the BitTorrent network and is being illegally downloaded and distributed countless times worldwide with many confirmed instances of infringing activity traced to Oregon.”
Like many other similar lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, the PTG Nevada cases were filed by Salem, OR attorney Carl D. Crowell. And, as with other similar lawsuits, Voltage Pictures is the likely instigator, with a co-production credit on Pay the Ghost. A case listing with links to complaints is below.
UPDATE (12/3/15): PTG Nevada, LLC has filed recent actions including multiple Doe parties, 8 and 9 per case. Unlike other recent multi-Doe filings in the Oregon District Court, this complaint does not specifically allege common use of the Popcorn Time application, which, as previously reported, represents an apparent attempt to escape a prior court ruling against multi-Doe BitTorrent cases on grounds on improper joinder.
UPDATE (8/10/16): After adverse rulings from the court on permissive joinder issues, PTG Nevada has resorted to filing additional “Singleton” Doe suits in the Oregon District Court, lodging several news cases in recent months.
Parties and subscribers receiving ISP notices of these actions can contact attorney Benjamin Justus for a free consultation regarding possible options.
Case No: 3:15-cv-01847
PTG Nevada, LLC v. Doe-67.170.183.19
Filed: 09/29/2015
Case No: 3:15-cv-01848
PTG Nevada, LLC v. Doe-76.115.211.63
Filed: 09/29/2015
Case No: 3:15-cv-02017
PTG Nevada, LLC v. Doe-24.20.158.26, et al
Filed: 10/27/2015
Filed: 11/29/2015
Case No: 3:15-cv-02228
PTG Nevada, LLC v. Doe-67.171.138.240, et al
Filed: 03/30/2016
Case No. 3:16-cv-00549
PTG Nevada, LLC v. Doe-75.150.35.20
Filed: 05/23/2016
Case No. 3:16-cv-00900
PTG Nevada, LLC v. Doe-71.38.152.120
Filed: 06/22/2016
Case No. 3:16-cv-01188
PTG Nevada, LLC v. Doe-73.37.80.127
Filed: 06/30/2016
Case No. 3:16-cv-01350
PTG Nevada, LLC v. Doe-24.22.104.76
Filed: 07/16/2016
Case No. 3:16-cv-01442
PTG Nevada, LLC v. Doe-50.53.133.123