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Major Hollywood studios primarily tackle piracy by going after major providers, including pirated streaming platforms. Adult entertainment company Strike 3 Holdings takes a different approach; tracks individual pirates and holds them accountable in court. With more than 1,600 lawsuits in the first half of this year, the company is on pace to break its own record.
In recent years, adult entertainment company Strike 3 Holdings has filed thousands of cases in US federal courts.
The company, known by its brands Blacked, Tushy, and Vixen, targets people whose Internet connections were allegedly used to download and share copyright-infringing content via BitTorrent.
Track, sue and settle
These efforts, often referred to as "copyright trolling," are pretty straightforward. Copyright holders trace a 'hacking' IP address and then request a subpoena, forcing ISPs to hand over the associated customer data.
Many of these lawsuits result in private settlements, which can be quite lucrative. With minimal effort, rights holders can win hundreds or thousands of dollars per defendant.
Other rights holders have implemented similar strategies over the years, but Strike 3 is the only major player still involved today. That does not mean that the company is reducing its business, quite the opposite.
1,660 Lawsuits in 2023
Strike 3 has ramped up its enforcement efforts in 2023. Looking at the number of new lawsuits filed in the first six months of the year, we see that 1,660 complaints have been filed in various US federal courts.
This figure is an increase of 57% compared to the first half of 2022, which suggests that the adult company continues to increase its productivity. At the current rate, it will break the record number of hacking cases introduced last year.
With this level of workload, it is not surprising that most cases are resolved relatively quickly. Of all the lawsuits filed in the first half of the year, more than a third have already been closed. This usually occurs when the parties reach an out-of-court settlement.
Strike 3 can also drop a lawsuit for other reasons and sometimes gets a default judgment due to a defendant's non-response. We rarely see one of these cases go to trial.
a trial is coming
While rare, there is currently a trial pending in the Middle District of Florida. This procedure is scheduled to begin at the end of this month and both Strike 3 and the accused pirate will have four days to present their arguments.
In the lead up to this legal battle, Strike 3 petitioned the court to ban the term "copyright troll" from the lawsuit. The company argued that this language is "derogatory" and "harmful," but District Court Judge Mary Scriven denied the request.
The essay itself will not be about semantics. Among other things, the defense appears to be intent on attacking Strike 3's evidence-gathering technology, while the adult company will respond by pointing out that the defendant destroyed important evidence on his computer.
No word yet on whether the trial will keep Strike 3 busy enough to prevent a new hacking case record. To reach this milestone, the company 'only' has to file 1,129 complaints in the second half of the year.
