Chula Vista attorney goes after movie pirates

This summer, a movie titled Cell came out. It is based on a 2006 novel by Stephen King. Plot: cell-phone users are immediately and maddeningly re-programmed into rabid killers. Sounds grim. (Critics weren't enthusiastic.)

On September 9 in federal court, Cell Film Holdings, producer and distributor of the movie, filed suit against an unknown Doe (John or Jane is not specified) who allegedly has been pirating the film and distributing it "countless times worldwide."

This Doe is identified as Doe-72.197.18.54. He, she, or it has swiped the film 107 times, using a technical system called BitTorrent software to do the dirty work, says the suit. According to the suit, Cox Communications "should be able to identify" the alleged crook or crooks, but Cox is not named as a defendant in the suit.

"The film industry loses $150 billion a year" because of unlicensed distributors using technology to copy the film, says James S. Davis, the Chula Vista-based lawyer who is counsel for Cell Film Holdings. He says he has sleuths who use technology to get the Internet Protocol Address of the film thieves.