Strike 3’ Filed a Record Number of Piracy Lawsuits in 2024

Adult entertainment company Strike 3 Holdings is once again the most prolific copyright litigant in the United States. The company tracks down individual pirates and holds them responsible via copyright infringement lawsuits. The company is linked to over 3,900 lawsuits filed in 2024 alone, breaking its own record once again.

The ease with which IP addresses and BitTorrent downloads can be tracked has created a fertile ground for copyright lawsuits.

This inherent transparency has fueled thousands of lawsuits against alleged video pirates, both in the U.S. and around the world.

In the United States, Strike 3 Holdings has emerged as a key player in this legal landscape. The company, known for adult entertainment videos published under the ‘Milfy’, ‘Tushy’, and ‘Vixen’ brands, pursues legal action against those who share its content illegally.

‘John Doe’ Lawsuits

When these videos leak and are shared on pirate sites, Strike 3 takes action. After collecting the IP-addresses, it typically files a complaint, requesting a subpoena to obtain the subscriber’s details. Once the target is identified, the case can move forward.

John Doe

johndoe
These lawsuits can be a lucrative business, especially when targeted defendants opt to swiftly settle the action for a few thousand dollars. The money comes on top of the deterrent factor that is often cited by copyright holders as one of the main reasons to take action.

Legal pressure can deter the accused pirates and, perhaps, some of their neighbors too. There appears to be no shortage of pirates yet, though, not even within Strike 3’s niche market, as exemplified by Strike 3’s track record.

3,900+ Cases Filed in 2024

More than a decade ago, there were many rightsholders deploying this strategy in U.S. courts. Nowadays, Strike 3 mostly acts alone, but that doesn’t mean that their activity has diminished.

Since 2017, the adult company has filed over 15,000 cases against alleged pirates. These repetitive complaints barely ever reach the news, but they continue to target real people. Not just that, the number of cases has also increased steadily since 2020.

Strike 3 Cases

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Last year, Strike 3 is listed as a party in 3,932(*) cases filed in U.S. federal courts. This is a new all-time record. Never before has a copyright holder filed this many individual cases in a single year.

For comparison, in 2017 – the first year Strike 3 was active – all copyright holders combined filed 1,019 cases related to file-sharing. At the time, Malibu Media was the most active copyright litigant.

Strike 3 Holdings also dominates when it comes to all copyright cases filed in the US. According to Justia, over 7,000 copyright cases were filed in 2024, with Strike 3 responsible for more than half of that total.

Recently filed…

strike cases
Settlements and Dismissals

With this level of workload, it’s no surprise that most Strike 3 cases are resolved relatively swiftly. Of all lawsuits filed in the first half of 2024, more than 88% have already been closed. This typically happens when the parties reach an out-of-court settlement or if Strike 3 drops a complaint for other reasons.

There have been a few rare instances where alleged pirates have fought back. For example, when Strike 3 filed a lawsuit against a 70+-year-old retired police officer, the defendant prevailed and ultimately ‘won’ a fees and costs award of $47,777.

Strike 3 has also had significant windfalls. In some instances, where defendants failed to respond, the adult entertainment company scored big wins, including a $108,750 damages award.

Overall, the fact that Strike 3 continues to file news lawsuits, while also increasing its output, suggests that they are getting more out of this than it costs.

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(*) Note: the numbers presented here are based on a PACER and Justia searches for cases filed between January 1 and December 31, 2024, where ‘Strike 3’ is listed as a party. For 2024, all possible non-copyright cases have been filtered out.