'Hurt Locker' producer files massive antipiracy lawsuit

10:59 AM PST 12/21/2010 by Eriq Gardner

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It's official. "Hurt Locker" producer Voltage Pictures has declared war on 5,000 unidentified people who allegedly pirated the Oscar-winning film. The lawsuit was filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

For background on the story, here's what we've posted to date:

And here's the complaint. According to the lawsuit: "A Defendant's distribution of even one unlawful copy of a motion picture can result in the nearly instantaneous worldwide distribution of that single copy to a limitless number of people. The Plaintiff new seeks redress for this rampant infringement of their exclusive rights."

Keep in mind that the number of people being sued may not be a fixed number.

The plaintiff will soon subpoena ISPs to identify the individuals behind the alleged IP addresses used for copyright infringement. Once people have been identified as targets, demand letters will go out. According to a settlement website in one of the earlier, related lawsuits, the plaintiffs are demanding $1500 to release each alleged pirate from liability. The penalties go up further without response. Ultimately, if an accused copyright infringer goes to trial, the plaintiff could seek maximum statutory damages in the amount of $150,000 per infringement, attorneys fees, and costs.