April Litigation Brings May Frustration

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. v. May (E.D. Wis. April 24, 2006)

“On August 20, 2005, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corporation, and Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc. served a summons and an amended complaint on Chris May.” May never responded to the Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint, so the Plaintiffs ended up getting a default judgement. The only question here for the court to consider was damages, as “upon an entry of default, the allegations of a complaint are taken as true regarding liability, but allegations pertaining to damages typically are not.” Based on the evidence provided by the Plaintiffs, the court concluded the plaintiffs had submitted enough documentary evidence to avoid an evidentiary hearing. Further, the court found the evidence to sufficient to authorize damages above the normal limit in Section 504 of the Copyright Act due to May’s infringement being willful:

The evidence indicates that May's actions were willful. He knew that the material he made available via his website was copyrighted and was being disseminated without authorization. Furthermore, given the massive online piracy that May apparently orchestrated, and the harsh effects illegal downloads have on the motion picture industry, the Court deems the Plaintiffs' request for $35,000.00 in statutory damages a suitable award.

Holding: Chris May must pay $35,000 to the Plaintiffs and is essentially enjoined from any further infringement against the Plaintiffs.