● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportLow impact1 neutral
Plaintiff in torrent tracker lawsuit dismisses claims after identity dispute
Key points
- Plaintiff Matthew Schneider sued six private torrent trackers for copyright infringement.
- The actual filmmaker named Matthew Schneider denied involvement in the lawsuit.
- Plaintiff claimed to be a different Matthew Schneider with identical film titles.
- The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the claims as pressure mounted.
Copyright Lawsuit Against Torrent Trackers
An individual named Matthew Schneider filed a lawsuit against six private torrent trackers, including PassThePopcorn, BroadcasTheNet, and HDBits, alleging copyright infringement. The plaintiff sought to unmask the operators of these trackers through Cloudflare.
Identity Dispute Emerges
The lawsuit took an unusual turn when the actual filmmaker behind the movies cited in the complaint, also named Matthew Schneider, submitted a sworn declaration stating he had no association with the plaintiff. The plaintiff then claimed to be a different Matthew Schneider who coincidentally made three films with the exact same titles: Split: A Film Anthology, Do Us Part, and Orlando Gloom, Always the Same.
Court Warns of Sanctions
Judge Andrea R. Wood noted the unusual nature of the case, which was the first copyright lawsuit to target multiple prominent private torrent trackers. The judge warned the plaintiff about potential sanctions if the allegations of a frivolous claim filed with intent to deceive the court were proven true.
Claims Voluntarily Dismissed
As scrutiny intensified, the plaintiff chose to voluntarily dismiss the claims. This last-minute action may not prevent potential sanctions for the initial filing.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
A plaintiff suing private torrent trackers for copyright infringement voluntarily dismissed his claims after being accused of impersonating the actual filmmaker. The plaintiff, who used the name Matthew Schneider, claimed to have coincidentally made films with the same titles as another filmmaker, leading to suspicions of a revenge plot by a banned user.