FlavaWorks is suing 325 gay-torrents.org users. You maybe one of them.
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This is actually big news and I think it should concern some users here who are also now likely ex-members of gay-torrents.org.
The site has been down for 2 days now and looking at the reporting it doesn't seem like it will come back. In a nutshell Flavaworks is suing the operators and mods of the site who were financially benefited by running the site, plus 325 users who were found to have uploaded and shared their videos.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/flava-works-goes-nuclear-in-new-piracy-6951261/
As of now not all documents are publicly available for free. But if anyone has access all the documents and exhibits, including the list of usernames included as defendants, can be downloaded from PACER:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/64366446/FlavaWorks_Entertainment,_Inc_v_Deniau_et_al
From what I have just read Flavaworks has been launching a lot of copyright infringing cases and this new case will likely be watched by other producers if they're successful in extracting damages from users like us.
Some of you should get prepared, especially if you're in the US. They only know the usernames now and usually they will include as many as you could find at this stage. They may also know the email and IP addresses. It is however not difficult to track you down.
Anyway if anyone has access to PACER please download the documents and share.
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These are not the documents on Pacer, but perhaps some of the documents you want to see, even screenshots of the forum, are here: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73256924/flavaworks-entertainment-inc-v-deniau/
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@Alfje Oh cool thanks. These are exactly the documents I want to see, especially the list of defendants.
For those who are also users of gay-torrents.org, you should check this list of defendants to see if you're one of the users:
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.499688/gov.uscourts.ilnd.499688.1.5.pdf
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@sabahiya they are so aggressive in their harassment strategy that they will just sue anyone without any substantial proof. If the CEO, who is the thinking head behind this modus operandi, decides that you are an offender, he will come after will.
I am one of the 325 members in that lawsuit, alongside with every single member who have interacted in the FlavaWorks thread. I don't live in the US and I have never downloaded any FlavaWorks material and I never will because, I apologize in advance, but I'm not interested in their selling point, to put it more respectfully...
They always have the weakest defense line possible and the weakest proof, if any... But they keep winning because they keep suing individuals instead of the website operators. You will always end ip spending a lot more than what they're asking from you if you decide to defend yourself. It's also very damaging to have a lawsuit in your name involving a porn studio and many settle just to get rid of it.
Despite the copyright laws being applicable in most countries, they only sue in the US, because it's the only place where they can weaponize the judicial system to their own benefit because it's extremely expensive for most individuals.
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@sabahiya They'll have a hard time getting anywhere in Canada with this tactic because there was a precedent set in the case of Voltage Pictures Inc v TekSavvy Solutions
A federal judge in Canada has ruled that an IP address alone is insufficient information to warrant disclosure of customer information as an IP address alone does nothing to identify the physical device that was used, or the end-user of said device. It was also ruled that in the days of things like WiFi networks, an IP address alone also does not prove that the physical device used for the infringing activity was even physically at the service address of the subscriber, as it can (in theory) be a wireless device used from a neighbour's home, or even someone outside on the street.
So at least as far as Canadian law goes, there's not a snowball's chance in hell that they'll get the subscriber information, as an IP address alone does not prove that the end-user is the service subscriber.
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As a follow up to my previous post, there is one option available to copyright holders in Canada.
They can send your ISP a cease & desist notice, which your ISP then forwards to you. It identifies the copyright holder and the infringing material in question. Once received, you have a set time period as the service subscriber in which to cease the infringing activity, without your information being disclosed to the copyright holder.
It is only once this notice is given to the service subscriber AND the infringing activity does not come to a stop in the set time period any any further action can be taken or the identity of the subscriber can be disclosed to the copyright holder... So on the most part, it becomes really hard to go after such cases in Canada.
Now, that being said, if an ISP receives too many of these cease & desist notices, they can reserve the right to terminate your service without any advance notice, and without any compensation for a violation of their ToS. If you're using a VPN however, this becomes a moot point, as your actual IP address does not appear in the peers pool, but rather, the IP address for your VPN appears instead. This saves you the hassle of having to worry about your ISP receiving any such notices.
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@MrMazda another reason to have all this forum private. thank you
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Oh yeah... Phillip Bleicher is the CEO. HQ in Miami.
Yes, the surname Bleicher is of Jewish (Ashkenazic) origin
So of course they run to the court for everything possible. Their wikipedia shows they are very litigious.
Still in the slavetrade.
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@sabahiya is this the reason then im guessing that gay-torrents is down? people were asking on reddit. seems obviously yes thats the reason but wow to lose that site over this is wild.
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lets keep this thread running - i'm keep to understand any updates on gay-torrents.org : I really hope they come back online - I dont understand if its pvt tracker forum and all how does it still get taken down - it not like open to public - that's wild
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https://torrentfreak.com/porn-producer-targets-members-of-gay-torrent-site-in-court-251104/
They also tried to sue this pvt torrent tracker too
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@cp2000 well over 300 of their users are being sued so it wouldn't be sensible to keep the site open
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Hi, as per what we were told the situation is actually worse in terms of what FW might have one to get this info, it was believed they hacked into one of the mods accounts as to get it since they have no other way to access it, plus the old "thanks" to know who downloaded what, also they can't access the information of seeders/leechers, as it happens here, unless you are an admin.
I don't know what happens if you live outside the US, as it is my case. All this said, I don't believe it will be that easy for them to follow up with any of us, especially as what @ianfontinell since I never cared for their material either.
Sorry I can't be more specific but I would rather be safe than sorry.
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https://torrentfreak.com/porn-producer-targets-members-of-gay-torrent-site-in-court-251104/
They also tried to sue this pvt torrent tracker too
This one is particularly interesting because it was a Canadian who they went after. See, Canada has what we call the "Notice & Notice System". When your IP address is identified in the peers pool, it was ruled in the case of Voltage Pictures Inc v TekSavvy Solutions that an IP address alone is insufficient to warrant the disclosure of the subscriber information as an IP address alone does not prove the physical device that was used, that the end user of said physical device is the service subscriber, or even that the physical device was actually physically present at the service address of the subscriber (thanks to things like WiFi).
The only thing they can do for the regular downloader pirates in Canada is send their ISP a cease and desist notice, which then gets forwarded to the subscriber. They are given a chance to first cease the infringing activity, and if they comply, no further action can be taken. It is only if the service subscriber is made aware of the allegations and fails to act to stop the infringing activity that either any action can be taken, or that the subscriber information can be revealed to the copyright holder. Also, for lawsuit purposes, the IP address alone was ruled in the same court ruling to be insufficient evidence to prove that the content was downloaded in its entirety, or was shared to other users.
Now after reading that article, it seems that the Canadian in question was identified by the unique watermark on the content, which linked to their paid account on the site, which is a whole different ball of wax, as this information most definitely IS sufficient evidence to prove not only the tie to that particular person, but also prove that the content was distributed in its entirety.
I'd be really interested in seeing if any of the other "John Doe" users in that claim are Canadian.
The only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage! -
Hi, as per what we were told the situation is actually worse in terms of what FW might have one to get this info, it was believed they hacked into one of the mods accounts as to get it since they have no other way to access it, plus the old "thanks" to know who downloaded what, also they can't access the information of seeders/leechers, as it happens here, unless you are an admin.
I don't know what happens if you live outside the US, as it is my case. All this said, I don't believe it will be that easy for them to follow up with any of us, especially as what @ianfontinell since I never cared for their material either.
Sorry I can't be more specific but I would rather be safe than sorry.
I don't know about in the USA, but in Canada, a simple thanks on a torrent is insufficient to take any action on as a simple thank you does not prove that the user downloaded the content in its entirety, or that the user shared the content with other users (again, see Voltage Pictures Inc v TekSavvy).
I'm actually rather glad that TekSavvy decided to fight back and fight back HARD when Voltage tried to take them to the cleaners a few years back, as it set a number of precedents for our court systems that gave substantial protections to Canadians. One of these precedents that was set was that they have to prove the identity of the end-user of the device, OR have to prove that the service subscriber was aware of the infringing activity and failed to act in a way that ceased the activity in question.
So with the Notice & Notice System, it is a bit more difficult to go after users in the Canadian courts, and pretty well ALL cases since this landmark case have been the result of user stupidity, usually because they got the cease & desist notice, but failed to stop the infringing activity by the end of the deadline.
The only catch to the Notice & Notice System is that if your ISP receives too many complaints (as is determned by your ISP as no precedent has yet to be set on that), your ISP may reserve the right to terminate your service and refuse any future subscription. A VPN however will get around this though, as it will make the VPN IP show in the peers pool, rather than your actual IP address, so it keeps the identity of your ISP out of the equation.
The only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage! -
I'd be really interested in seeing if any of the other "John Doe" users in that claim are Canadian.
At least one that I know of from the forum, K3yb04rd, is Canadian. They have decided to mention in the lawsuit every single member who posted in that one FW thread regardless of IP/geolocation.
They must be really confident in what they're doing if they keep insisting on bloating their lawsuits with useless data as "evidence"
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@ianfontinell Either that, or they're blissfully unaware of the precedents that have been set by TekSavvy in the Canadian courts. They can throw his IP address around all they want, but an IP address is insufficient proof of identity for the previously mentioned reasons.
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This is actually big news and I think it should concern some users here who are also now likely ex-members of gay-torrents.org.
The site has been down for 2 days now and looking at the reporting it doesn't seem like it will come back. In a nutshell Flavaworks is suing the operators and mods of the site who were financially benefited by running the site, plus 325 users who were found to have uploaded and shared their videos.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/flava-works-goes-nuclear-in-new-piracy-6951261/
As of now not all documents are publicly available for free. But if anyone has access all the documents and exhibits, including the list of usernames included as defendants, can be downloaded from PACER:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/64366446/FlavaWorks_Entertainment,_Inc_v_Deniau_et_al
From what I have just read Flavaworks has been launching a lot of copyright infringing cases and this new case will likely be watched by other producers if they're successful in extracting damages from users like us.
Some of you should get prepared, especially if you're in the US. They only know the usernames now and usually they will include as many as you could find at this stage. They may also know the email and IP addresses. It is however not difficult to track you down.
Anyway if anyone has access to PACER please download the documents and share.
The full lawsuit with the users' names can be accessed here, it is quoted in a link within the piece: https://torrentfreak.com/flavaworks-sues-operator-and-325-users-of-private-torrent-tracker-gay-torrents/
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@MrMazda So are you'll saying that I should turn my VPN on when i'm downloading the torrents and seeding it ? or just when I login to the site? ISP can terminate your services but will they do that what's the benefit for them to cancel your services? they also want your business and also if this ISP cancel your services then apply for another ISP - many year ago back in 2000s I got send an email from ISP to my ISP inbox - saying that movie studio found I downloaded a pirate movie cant recall was it via torrents or those zip file website - and its just a warning - because I don't reside in USA and there wasnt a rule back in where I was reside to actual do anything about it
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@harry76 For your ISP, it becomes more of a legal protection. No ISP wants to be known as the ISP that allows copyright infringement on their network. In the case of a user who gets a multitude of requests, this obviously increases the risk that the copyright troll can start litigation against the provider for allowing such activity on their network.
I personally do not use a VPN when logging into the site just to browse or use the forums, however on the machine that I use for the actual torrent traffic, I absolutely use a VPN. I know that in the DPI state of Canada, my ISP can most definitely see what I'm doing behind the VPN, however it is not my ISP I am worried about. It's more of a protection so that nothing attaches my actual IP address to any torrent traffic so that my actual IP address does not appear in the peers pool. This way, my ISP can most definitely still see what I'm doing, but potential copyright trolls cannot tie my identity to any specific torrent.
The other added benefit of using a VPN is that if I do hit on a torrent that is being monitored by copyright trolls, they'll have to approach my VPN provider for further information, however my VPN provider has a strict no logging policy, so they are not able to disclose information that they do not actually have. This saves me from having my ISP account tied to any of the torrents I may have active at any given time, which both protects me from being tied to the torrent, and also stops my ISP from receiving any potential notice.
It is generally assumed that although in a DPI state such as Canada that the big players to the market can see what kind of traffic you have going even through the VPN, they typically do not give a damn what you're actually doing, as long as they don't have copyright holders knocking on their door with infringement claims.
That said, depending on where you are in the world, it may be a wise idea to use the VPN even when logging into the site, just to make sure that even the sites themselves cannot tie your actual IP address to your account. This is particularly helpful if the security of the site or its staff are compromised somehow. A person may be able to tie the VPN IP to different torrents, and may even be able to tie your VPN IP to your account, but if they are not able to sniff out your actual IP address, then the link they need to get your subscriber information is missing, thereby making the VPN IP address a dead end (assuming that your VPN provider has a no logging policy).
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