WEST COAST PRODUCTIONS INC v. PATE

Filing 1

COMPLAINT against THAD PATE Filing Fee $350, Receipt Number 1179773, filed by WEST COAST PRODUCTIONS INC. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet)(ggs)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATHENS DIVISION
______________________________
)
WEST COAST
)
PRODUCTIONS, INC.
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
3:11-cv-118
v.
) CIVIL ACTION NO. _________
)
THAD PATE,
)
)
Defendant.
)
______________________________ )
COMPLAINT FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
Plaintiff, WEST COAST PRODUCTIONS, INC., by and through its
attorneys, sues the Defendant, THAD PATE, for direct and/or contributory
copyright infringement arising under the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C.
§§ 101 et seq., and alleges:
PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE
1.

Plaintiff, West Coast Productions, Inc. (“Plaintiff”), is a

corporation with its principal place of business located at 10040 Remmet
Avenue, Chatsworth, California 91311.

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2.

Defendant, Thad Pate (“Defendant”), is an individual who, on

information and belief, resides at 1604 Windward Court, Loganville,
Georgia 30052.
3.

Personal jurisdiction is proper because the Defendant resides in

the District and/or the act(s) of infringement complained of herein occurred
in the District.
4.

This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over these federal

question claims pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 101, et seq., 28 U.S.C. § 1338(a),
and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331(a).
5.

Venue in this District is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)

and/or 28 U.S.C. §1400(a).
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The Copyrighted Motion Picture
6.

Plaintiff is engaged in the production, acquisition, and

distribution of motion pictures for theatrical exhibition, home entertainment,
and other forms of distribution.
7.

Plaintiff is responsible for the creation, development, and

production of the commercially released motion picture entitled Teen Anal

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Nightmare 2, which has significant value and has been produced and created
at considerable expense.
8.

At all relevant times hereto, Plaintiff has and continues to be

the holder of the pertinent exclusive copyrights infringed by Defendant, as
alleged hereunder, for certain copyrighted works, including but not limited
to the copyrighted motion picture Teen Anal Nightmare 2 (collectively,
including screenplays and derivative works, the “Copyrighted Motion
Picture”), which Copyrighted Motion Picture is the subject of valid
Certificate of Copyright Registrations # PA0001701526 issued by the
Register of Copyrights.
9.

The Copyrighted Motion Picture contains a copyright notice

advising the viewer that the motion picture is protected by the copyright
laws.
The Online Media Distribution System
10.

The “BitTorrent protocol” or “torrent” is an online media

distribution system which users of peer-to-peer (“P2P”) networks use to
transfer data files such as digital audio/music files, digital pictures, and
digital movies.

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11.

The BitTorrent protocol makes even small computers with low

bandwidth capable of participating in large data transfers across a P2P
network.
12.

The initial file-provider intentionally elects to share a file with a

torrent network called a “seed.”
13.

Other users (“peers”) on the network connect to the seed file to

download the file, wherein the download creates a free digital copy of the
Plaintiff’s copyrighted motion picture.
14.

As yet additional peers request the same file, each additional

user becomes a part of the network from where the file can be downloaded.
15.

The BitTorrent protocol works by allowing each new file

downloader to receive a different piece of the data from each peer who has
already downloaded the file that together comprises the whole, which is
typically referred to as a “swarm.”
16.

This distributed nature of BitTorrent leads to a rapid viral

spreading of a file throughout peer users such that as more peers join the
swarm, the likelihood of a successful download increases.
17.

Because of the nature of a BitTorrent protocol, any seed peer

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that has downloaded a file prior to the time a subsequent peer downloads the
same file is automatically a source for the subsequent peer so long as that
first seed peer is online at the time the subsequent peer downloads a file.
18.

The effect of the BitTorrent protocol is to make every

downloader also an uploader of the illegally transferred file(s), which means
that every “node” or peer user who has a copy of the infringing copyrighted
material on a torrent network must necessarily also be a source of download
for that infringing file.
19.

Due to the nature of the swarm downloads as described above,

every infringer is simultaneously stealing copyrighted material in numerous
jurisdictions around the country.
The Infringement of the Copyrighted Motion Picture
20.

Plaintiff is informed and believes that Defendant, without the

permission or consent of the Plaintiff, has and continues to use the
BitTorrent protocol to reproduce and distribute to the public, including by
making available for distribution to others, the Copyrighted Motion Picture.
21.

More specifically, Defendant, on information and belief,

without the permission or consent of the Plaintiff, downloaded and

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distributed the Copyrighted Motion Picture using the BitTorrent protocol on
11/9/2010 at 5:13:24 AM (UTC) via the Internet Protocol (“IP”) address
24.99.78.82, which was provided by Defendant’s Internet Service Provider
(“ISP”), Comcast Cable Communications, Inc.
22.

Defendant’s acts of infringement were intentional, willful,

malicious, and in disregard of and with indifference to the rights of the
Plaintiff.
23.

As a result of Defendant’s acts of infringement, Plaintiff has

been damaged.
COUNT I
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT/
VIOLATION OF 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, ET SEQ.
24.

Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference Paragraphs 1 to

23 of this complaint as if set forth fully here.
25.

At all relevant times hereto, Plaintiff has and continues to be

the holder of the pertinent valid and exclusive copyrights for the
Copyrighted Motion Picture, Teen Anal Nightmare 2.
26.

Defendant violated Plaintiff’s exclusive rights of reproduction

and distribution for the Copyrighted Motion Picture by downloading

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(reproducing) and uploading (distributing) Teen Anal Nightmare 2, using the
BitTorrent protocol.
27.

Defendant’s acts constitute infringement of Plaintiff’s exclusive

copyrights protected under the Copyright Act of 1976 (17 U.S.C. § 101, et
seq.).
28.

Defendant’s acts of infringement were intentional, willful,

malicious, and in disregard of and with indifference to the rights of the
Plaintiff.
29.

As a result of the Defendant’s infringement of Plaintiff’s

exclusive rights under copyright, the Plaintiff is entitled to relief pursuant to
17 U.S.C. § 504 and to its attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 17 U.S.C. §
505.
30.

The conduct of the Defendant is causing and, unless enjoined

and restrained by this Court, will continue to cause the Plaintiff great and
irreparable injury that cannot fully be compensated or measured in money.
31.

Plaintiff is entitled to injunctive relief prohibiting the Defendant

from further infringing the Plaintiff’s copyright and ordering that the
Defendant destroy all copies of Copyrighted Motion Picture made in

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violation of the Plaintiff’s copyrights.
WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff prays that this Honorable Court grant
the following relief against the Defendant:
1.

Enter a permanent injunction providing that Defendant shall:
(a)

be enjoined from directly, contributorily, or indirectly

infringing the Plaintiff’s rights in the Copyrighted Motion Picture and any
motion picture, whether now in existence or later created, that is owned or
controlled by the Plaintiff (“the Plaintiff’s Motion Pictures”), including
without limitation by using the Internet to reproduce or copy the Plaintiff’s
Motion Pictures, to distribute the Plaintiff’s Motion Pictures, or to make the
Plaintiff’s Motion Pictures available for distribution to the public, except
pursuant to a lawful license or with the express authority of the Plaintiff;
and,
(b)

destroy all copies of the Plaintiff’s Motion Pictures that

Defendant has downloaded onto any computer hard drive or server without
the Plaintiff’s authorization and shall destroy all copies of those downloaded
motion pictures transferred onto any physical medium or device in the
Defendant’s possession, custody, or control; and,

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2.

Award statutory damages pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 504, but in no

event less than $30,000 per infringement and up to $150,000 per
infringement should the Court find any infringement to be willful or
intentional; and,
3.

Award Plaintiff reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs, and interest;

4.

Award all other such and further relief as the Court deems just

and,

and proper.
This 25th day of August, 2011.
Respectfully submitted,

s/Elizabeth Ann Morgan
Elizabeth Ann Morgan
Georgia Bar No. 522206
THE MORGAN LAW FIRM P.C.
260 Peachtree Street
Suite 1601
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
TEL: [phone]
[e-mail]
Counsel for the Plaintiff

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