A "Swarm" Fails to Link Defendants Together For Joinder in a Copyright Case
In Raw Films, Ltd. v. John Does 1-32, Civil Action No. 3:11cv532 (October 5, 2011, amended on October 13, 2011), found here, Judge John A. Gibney, Jr., found that plaintiff had improperly joined 32 Doe defendants together in a copyright infringement suit involving the alleged uploading and downloading of a pornographic film “Raw Rescue” using a peer-to-peer sharing client known as BitTorrent.
Once a file is loaded using the BitTorrent software, BitTorrent allows the file to immediately be made available to other users looking to copy the file. The collection of users who simultaneously “share” a particular file is known as a “swarm.” Relying on this “swarm” theory,” the plaintiff claimed that the defendants acted in concert through a series of transactions to commit the infringement.
Judge Gibney found that the mere allegation that defendants used the same peer-to-peer network to copy and reproduce the film was insufficient to meet the joinder standard, especially as the use occurred on different days and times over a span of three months. Id. at 3. Simply committing the same type of violation in the same way does not link defendants together for purposes of joinder. Id. As a result, Judge Gibney severed all of the defendants but one.
