Malibu Media, LLC v. Doe

Background

Malibu Media, LLC sued Jeremy Sanders for copyright infringement. The amended complaint alleged that Malibu Media owned copyrights in six adult films and that Sanders used the BitTorrent file-sharing network to download and distribute those works without authorization. The opinion states that Malibu Media is a California-based limited liability company and that Sanders resides in New York City.

Procedural History

Sanders was served with the amended complaint but did not respond or otherwise appear. After Sanders also failed to appear at a scheduled hearing, the court entered an Order of Default and referred the case to Magistrate Judge Katherine Parker for an inquest on damages. Judge Parker held a damages hearing, but Sanders did not attend or submit a written response.

Judge Parker issued a Report and Recommendation recommending $9,000 in statutory damages—$1,500 for each of the six works—and $400 in costs. The parties were given 14 days to object, but neither party objected. The district court stated that judicial review had therefore been waived, but it reviewed the recommendation for clear error and found none.

Liability

A default generally treats well-pleaded factual allegations about liability as admitted, although the plaintiff must still show that those allegations establish liability. The court concluded that Malibu Media’s allegations established the two requirements for copyright infringement: ownership of valid copyrights and unauthorized copying of original elements. The court therefore accepted Judge Parker’s conclusion that Sanders infringed Malibu Media’s copyrights by downloading and distributing the six works through BitTorrent.

Damages and Costs

The Copyright Act permits statutory damages of between $750 and $30,000 per infringed work, as the court considers just. Judge Parker considered the infringer’s state of mind, saved expenses and profits, lost revenue, deterrence, cooperation, and the parties’ conduct. She concluded that $1,500 per work, totaling $9,000, was appropriate. The recommendation described Sanders’s infringement as willful but not so egregious as to justify the maximum penalty.

Malibu Media requested $780 in costs. Because the company did not provide supporting documentation for that full amount, the court awarded only the $400 in filing fees reflected on the docket. The court also declined to consider receipts for $325.35 in service-related costs that Malibu Media submitted after the magistrate judge issued the recommendation.

Disposition

Judge Gardephe adopted Judge Parker’s Report and Recommendation in its entirety. The court awarded Malibu Media $9,000 in statutory damages and $400 in costs, directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment, and ordered the case closed.