Patrick Collins Subpoena

Patrick Collins, Inc. (“Patrick Collins”) is an adult entertainment company that recently started a new business venture:  filing hundreds of frivolous copyright infringement suits against unnamed “John Doe” defendants.  In each suit, Patrick Collins alleges that these nameless defendants used the software BitTorrent to unlawfully download and store Patrick Collins’ pornographic films on their devices.

Typically, Patrick Collins attempts to exploit the court’s subpoena power coupled with the supposed infringer’s embarrassment of being a named defendant in a lawsuit associated with pornography to unfairly leverage “settlements” from Internet subscribers who may or may not unlawfully downloaded and/or accessed the pornographic films at issue.  Unfortunately, the threat of pending litigation appears burdensome and costly, and innocent defendants tend to choose the “settlement” path to avoid court appearances.  These defendants would rather not incur the ghastly expense of copyright litigation or face the potential embarrassment of fighting the case through various levels of the court system to hope to reach a fair judgment.  Instead, the defendants”settle” for a few thousand dollars to make the case go away and spare their name instead of suffer the public humiliation.

Yet, based on Patrick Collins’ track record, the pornographic powerhouse does not usually go through by naming and serving people with the litigation.  Rather, Patrick Collins dumps empty threats to Internet Service Provider (“ISP”) subscribers hoping they will engage in a game of the lesser of two evils by paying the settlement instead of financing a defense in a lawsuit.  Unfortunately, the ISP subscriber is the individual who pays for the internet service in their home or place of business, not necessarily the “John Doe” defendant who illegally downloaded the copyrighted material.  Thus, the ISP subscriber may be liable toward defending themselves in a lawsuit or some type of discovery when they may or may not have ever used Patrick Collins to access pornography  These predatory litigation tactics are disingenuous and unfair to valued ISP subscribers who are cast under blanket litigation by Patrick Collins.  These “trolls” are trying to reap an unfair settlement from innocent defendants..

If you received a notice from your ISP, or if Patrick Collins’ representatives are attempting to contact you directly, please call The Pietz Law Firm.

With a rich background and understanding of copyright infringement, we are experts in handling these types of predatory copyright cases. We have aided many clients in similar situations by successfully  their dismissing their cases and by relieving much unnecessary stress.  Also, please consult thisarticle about your options in these BitTorrent lawsuits for further information regarding these copyright infringement suits.