The US Copyright Group (USCG) seems to be slimming down their list of John Doe defendants - albeit modestly. Yesterday Slyck reported that the entire Donkeyball case, with its remaining 54 defendants, was completely scrapped. The motion to withdraw was made without prejudice, meaning the USCG can still file copyright complaints against the IP addresses in the future (pending court approval).

Additional John Does continue to be withdrawn. The USCG has decided to drop 317 defendants from the "Call of the Wild" case, cutting the total list to only 14 defendants.

In the Maverick Entertainment case, which contains various B-movie download allegations, they dropped 44 defendants. With 2,115 Does already associated with this case, the dismissal of these Does won't make much of an impact, unless this is the beginning of a larger trend.

The courts have become increasingly hostile to the USCG's massive lawsuit campaign, and these efforts may be indicative that the USCG is anticipating further orders to show only those Does it plans to sue in DC District court. Further, these Does aren't totally out of the woods, but it's a positive step forward for them as it will be impossible for the USCG to engage them all in trial.

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Date: 2011-06-14 Source: http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=2208