Two new copyright actions were filed in North Carolina U.S. District Courts by CELL Film Holdings, LLC, which claims copyrights to the John Cusack/Samuel L. Jackson zombie-themed movie Cell.

As noted by Troll Defense in a post on similar Oregon CELL Film Holdings cases, Cell is based on a 2006 Stephen King novel of the same title about a signal sent out over the global cell phone network that transforms every cell phone user into a mindless killer.

CELL Film Holdings is an affiliate of Benaroya Pictures.  As noted in a prior Troll Defense post regarding affiliated film Queen of the Desert, Benaroya Pictures was founded by Michael Benaroya, son of a Seattle real-estate mogul, who began funding films in 2009, including past titles such as “New York, I Love You,” “The Romantics,” “Catch .44,” “Margin Call” and “The Words.”  As predicted then, the Cell lawsuits confirm Benaroya’s foray into a national, multi-title “troll-style” lawsuit campaign.

The new Cell lawsuits, in the Eastern and Middle District Courts, allege copyright infringement by several “Doe” parties through their use of BitTorrent file-sharing software.  Along with generic allegations of BitTorrent-based copyright infringement, the suits seek statutory damages pursuant to the Copyright Act, attorney’s fees and costs, and an injunction against further infringement.

Like other BitTorrent lawsuits filed in the state, these complaints were signed by Cary, N.C. attorneys Kathleen M. Lynch and/or R. Matthew Van Sickle.  A case listing with links to the complaints is below.

Parties and subscribers receiving ISP notices of these actions can contact attorney Benjamin Justus for a free consultation regarding possible options.

Filed: 10/4/2016
Case No. 5:16-cv-00833
CELL Film Holdings, LLC v. Does 1-9

Filed: 10/10/2016
Case No. 1:16-cv-01216
CELL Film Holdings, LLC v. Does 1-2