40,000 P2P lawsuits dismissed – bad week for copyright trolls

Judges in California, Washington DC, Texas, and West Virginia have severed P2P lawsuits against unnamed John Does, effectively dismissing the cases against 40,000 American Internet users. Some users are still getting notices from their ISPs, though, and EFF has a spreadsheet you can consult if you’ve gotten a notice (spread the word!).

The plaintiffs in these cases must now re-file against almost all of the Does individually rather than suing them en masse. These rulings may have a significant impact on the copyright trolls’ business model, which relies on being able to sue thousands of Does at once with a minimum of administrative expense. The cost of filing suit against each Doe may prove prohibitively expensive to plaintiffs’ attorneys who are primarily interested in extracting quick, low-hassle settlements.

Over 40,000 Does Dismissed In Copyright Troll Cases