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COMPLAINT
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KILPATRICK TOWNSEND & STOCKTON LLP LARRY W. MCFARLAND (State Bar No. 129668) LMcFarland@kilpatricktownsend.com DENNIS L. WILSON (State Bar No. 155407) DWilson@kilpatricktownsend.com CHRISTOPHER T. VARAS (State Bar No. 257080) CVaras@kilpatricktownsend.com 9720 Wilshire Blvd PH Beverly Hills, CA 90212-2018 Telephone: 310-248-3830 Facsimile: 310-860-0363 JOSEPH PETERSEN (
pro hac vice
motion forthcoming) JPetersen@kilpatricktownsend.com The Grace Building 1114 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036-7703 Telephone: 212-775-8700 Facsimile: 212-775-8800 Attorneys for Plaintiff LIONS GATE FILMS INC.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA WESTERN DIVISION
LIONS GATE FILMS INC., Plaintiff, v. JOHN DOES 1-10 inclusive, d/b/a, <limetorrents.com>, <billionuploads.com>, <hulkfile.eu> <played.to>, <swankshare.com> and <dotsemper.com>,
et al
. Defendants.
CASE NO. 2:14-cv-06033 COMPLAINT FOR: (1) DIRECT FEDERAL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT (17 U.S.C. §§ 501,
et seq
.); (2) CONTRIBUTORY FEDERAL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT (17 U.S.C. §§ 501,
et seq.
); (3) VICARIOUS FEDERAL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT (17 U.S.C. §§ 501,
et seq.
)
Case 2:14-cv-06033 Document 1 Filed 07/31/14 Page 1 of 16 Page ID #:1
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COMPLAINT
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Plaintiff Lions Gate Films Inc. (“Lions Gate” or “Plaintiff”), through its attorneys, complaining of Defendants John Does 1 through 10 inclusive (collectively “Defendants”), alleges as follows:
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
1.
This lawsuit arises from Defendants’ willful and malicious violation of the federal Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. §§ 101,
et seq
.). 2.
This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 501, 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and § 1338(a). 3.
Venue in this district is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391 and/or 28 U.S.C. § 1400(a). Although the true identity of each Defendant is unknown to Lions Gate at this time, Lions Gate is informed and believes and on that basis alleges that each Defendant may be found in this District and/or a substantial part of the acts of infringement complained of herein occurred in this District. 4.
Lions Gate is informed and believes and on that basis alleges that personal jurisdiction in this District is proper because each Defendant, without consent or permission of Plaintiff, distributed and offered to distribute over the Internet copyrighted works for which Plaintiff has exclusive rights. On information and belief, such unlawful distribution occurred in every jurisdiction in the United States, including this one. In addition, each Defendant has directed tortious acts at Lions Gate in this District and has committed tortious acts that each Defendant knew or should have known would cause injury to Lions Gate in this District.
THE PARTIES
5.
Lions Gate is a company organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, having its principal place of business at 2700 Colorado Ave., Suite 200, Santa Monica, CA 90404. 6.
Lions Gate is currently unaware of the identities of Defendants and therefore sues such defendants by the fictitious acronyms John Does 1-10 inclusive. Lions Gate is informed and believes that discovery will reveal Defendants’ true
Case 2:14-cv-06033 Document 1 Filed 07/31/14 Page 2 of 16 Page ID #:2
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COMPLAINT
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identities. Lions Gate will amend this Complaint to identify Defendants by name after their identities are discovered.
LIONS GATE’S RIGHTS AND DEFENDANTS’ UNLAWFUL CONDUCT
7.
The work at issue in this lawsuit is the forthcoming third installment in the blockbuster “The Expendables” motion picture franchise, “The Expendables 3” (the “Film”). The Film is scheduled for theatrical release in North America on August 15, 2014, and has not been released to date. 8.
The cast of the Film includes Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren and Antonio Banderas among many others. The first two films in this franchise, “The Expendables” and “The Expendables 2”, generated worldwide box office revenues in excess of $575 million. 9.
The Film is the subject of a pending application for expedited registration with the United States Copyright Office, which has assigned the application Receipt No. 1-QVTXDT. A true and correct copy of the application is attached hereto as
Exhibit A
. In addition, the screenplay for the Film is the subject of United States Copyright Registration No. PAu003704583, issued on July 10, 2013, which is valid, subsisting and in full force and effect. A true and correct copy of the registration certificate is attached hereto as
Exhibit B.
The Film is a derivative work based on the registered screenplay. 10.
Lions Gate has been licensed the sole and exclusive right to distribute and exploit the Film in the United States and throughout North America. Lions Gate’s exclusive rights in the Film pursuant to this exclusive license include but are not limited to all rights in the United States and throughout North America to exploit the Film by means of direct exhibition in theaters, by means of the Internet and in all home video media, among other rights. 11.
On or about July 24, 2014, Lions Gate learned that a digital file containing a high quality reproduction of the Film had been stolen and uploaded to
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