LHF Productions, Inc. v. Does
2:16-cv-01804
D. Nev.Oct 24, 2017Background
- LHF Productions sued multiple Doe defendants for alleged copyright infringement of the motion picture "London Has Fallen" via BitTorrent; most defendants were dismissed or settled, leaving only Philina Buenafe.
- LHF served Buenafe with demand letters and the first amended complaint; she did not respond to any correspondence or appear in the case.
- The Clerk entered default against Buenafe; LHF moved for default judgment seeking statutory damages, attorneys' fees and costs, and a permanent injunction.
- The court treated the well-pleaded allegations as true for purposes of default and evaluated the motion under the Eitel factors for default judgment.
- The court found LHF had plausibly pleaded direct, contributory, and vicarious infringement based on ownership of the copyright and allegations about BitTorrent behavior and account-holder control.
- The court awarded statutory damages and fees but denied a permanent injunction, concluding monetary relief was sufficient to deter further infringement.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether default judgment should be entered | LHF: Buenafe failed to defend; allegations establish liability and justify default judgment | Buenafe: (no appearance or opposition) | Default judgment granted under Eitel factors; all factors favored judgment |
| Whether LHF stated claims for copyright infringement | LHF: Alleged ownership and that Buenafe directly, contributorily, and vicariously infringed via BitTorrent and account control | Buenafe: (no defense asserted) | Complaint sufficiently pleaded direct, contributory, and vicarious infringement |
| Appropriate statutory damages amount | LHF: Seeks $15,000 (willful infringement) to compensate and deter | Buenafe: (no response) | Court found willfulness but awarded $1,500 as reasonable statutory damages |
| Whether to issue a permanent injunction | LHF: Monetary damages are inadequate; injunction needed to stop ongoing seeding and deletion of torrent files | Buenafe: (no response) | Denied — court concluded the $7,980 monetary award was adequate to compensate and deter |
Key Cases Cited
- TeleVideo Sys. v. Heidenthal, 826 F.2d 915 (9th Cir. 1987) (default-admission rule and standard for taking allegations as true)
- Eitel v. McCool, 782 F.2d 1470 (9th Cir. 1986) (seven-factor test for default-judgment discretion)
- Cripps v. Life Ins. Co., 980 F.2d 1261 (9th Cir. 1992) (plaintiff must establish claims in default-judgment proceedings)
- A&M Records v. Napster, 239 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2001) (contributory and vicarious liability principles in peer-to-peer contexts)
- Perfect 10, Inc. v. Visa Int'l Serv. Ass'n, 494 F.3d 788 (9th Cir. 2007) (vicarious infringement and direct financial benefit test)
- Peer Int'l Corp. v. Pausa Records, 909 F.2d 1332 (9th Cir. 1990) (district court discretion in awarding statutory damages)
- Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. Streeter, 438 F. Supp. 2d 1065 (D. Ariz. 2006) (discussing proportionality of statutory damages in copyright cases)
- eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 547 U.S. 388 (2006) (four-factor test for injunctive relief)
- Flexible Lifeline Sys., Inc. v. Precision Lift, Inc., 654 F.3d 989 (9th Cir. 2011) (applying eBay factors in copyright context)