For several years, a small number of law firms have made an awful lot of money by identifying people it believes have used BitTorrent to download copyrighted porn, then nudging those people into paying up rather than having their names be made public. Comcast has decided it doesn’t want to be a part of such behavior and is refusing to comply with subpoenas in these cases.

The subpoenas order Comcast to take lists of IP addresses of suspected BitTorrent users and identify the customers behind those numbers.

Comcast had been complying with the orders, but TorrentFreak reports that the Kabletown folks have decided to put up a fight in an Illinois District Court.

The cable company argues that the subpoenas should be quashed because not all the possible defendants live within the jurisdiction of the court.

Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, Comcast says it believes the copyright holders are abusing the legal system to squeeze money from people who would rather not have their names associated in the public record with downloading porn.

“Plaintiffs should not be allowed to profit from unfair litigation tactics whereby they use the offices of the Court as an inexpensive means to gain Doe defendants’ personal information and coerce ‘settlements’ from them,” argues Comcast. “It is evident in these cases – and the multitude of cases filed by plaintiffs and other pornographers represented by their counsel — that plaintiffs have no interest in actually litigating their claims against the Doe defendants, but simply seek to use the Court and its subpoena powers to obtain sufficient information to shake down the Doe defendants.”

The plaintiffs’ attorney calls Comcast’s request to quash the subpoenas “part of a wider campaign to deny and delay the Plaintiffs’, and other similar copyright holders’, ability to protect their copyrighted works.”

Comcast Protests “Shake Down” of Alleged BitTorrent Pirates [TorrentFreak.com]

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