The plaintiff, claiming copyright in a movie, sought statutory damages against Internet Service Providers (ISPs) by way of a motion for their alleged failure to forward notices of suspected infringement to their subscribers under the notice-and-notice regime of the Copyright Act.
The Court held that, absent special circumstances intertwining the damages claim with a request for disclosure (which had already been settled), there is no legal basis to allow a standalone damages claim against non-party ISPs to proceed by motion.
The plaintiff must pursue damages by way of an action.
The motion was dismissed with costs.
