DC Circuit Reverses Lower Court Denial in Adult Film Piracy Suit

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia erred when it dismissed adult films producer Strike 3's motion seeking from Comcast the name of a broadband subscriber allegedly pirating its films, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday. In an opinion (in Pacer, docket 18-7188) by Judges Harry Edwards, Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao and penned by Rao, the D.C. Circuit said the lower court gave too much weight to the allegedly “aberrantly salacious nature” of Strike 3’s films and the danger Strike 3's method of identifying infringers using IP addresses and geolocation could result in false identifications. It reversed the lower court's order and remanded. Comcast didn't comment Wednesday.