Chicago Attorney Expands Scope of Bit Torrent Copyright Infringement Defense Practice

Chicago, Ill. (PRWEB) January 07, 2014

Chicago litigation attorney Jeffrey Antonelli—a leading U.S. lawyer in defending BitTorrent copyright infringement lawsuits—has expanded his expert legal defense services to offer skilled federal copyright infringement defense and consulting to clients and attorneys in the East Coast region. A newly-formed cross-country partnership has linked Antonelli Law, Ltd. with Maryland-based telecommunications attorney Mark C. Del Bianco, allowing Antonelli Law to represent defendants named in copyright infringement lawsuits in courts across the U.S.--now including in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

This new affiliation results in a unique co-counsel relationship that combines Antonelli’s experience in copyright and computer litigation with Del Bianco’s trusted telecommunications law knowledge; evidenced by his decade of experience working with telecom competitors and internet companies.

“The continuing emergence of new technology such as BitTorrent file-sharing software, which combines ease and simplicity to download and share large media files and other information online, has led to an increased demand for complex legal knowledge in the telecommunications realm,” Antonelli said. “BitTorrent Copyright infringement cases have been flooding U.S. courtrooms in recent years, requiring a niche legal defense team that reaches beyond state lines to fight for the rights of the many innocent people targeted in these lawsuits.”

Beyond representing a growing number of consumers and business owners subpoenaed in often-frivolous copyright infringement suits in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, New York - and soon in Arizona and Colorado—Antonelli’s copyright defense team offers expert consulting services to attorneys across the U.S. to help quash improper copyright infringement suits in federal courts across the country.

“With the Chicago office of Antonelli Law as co-counsel, we are able to apply the ability to analyze complex federal litigation to the technical evidence presented in these lawsuits; providing superb copyright defense to an increasing number of clients named in copyright cases,” Del Bianco said.

BitTorrent Copyright Infringement suits involve “copyright trolls,” or law firms representing production companies or copyright-holders of movies, by targeting computer users for alleged unauthorized sharing of movies, videos, eBooks, and music as a tool to recoup financial losses. When someone is targeted in these cases, it means their Internet Protocol (IP) address has been identified for downloading copyrighted works. Many defendants in copyright infringement cases, however, are wrongly accused and have fallen victim to hackers who piggyback or "spoof" the IP addresses of unknowing computer users.

Antonelli Law is very experienced in defending BitTorrent copyright infringement lawsuits filed by production company Malibu Media. The new affiliation with attorney Mark C. Del Bianco expands the firm’s reach to help many people in Maryland and Washington DC who are targets of these specific lawsuits.

These lawsuits sometimes target individuals for downloading just one video, and often ask defendants to pay thousands of dollars under a threat to reveal the accused computer user’s identity. It starts with a letter that arrives in the mail from the ISP notifying users a subpoena has been received demanding the identity of the user associated with the IP address. This is often followed by a letter from a law firm demanding upfront payment of a settlement by a certain deadline. The defendants in these cases are initially identified only by their IP address, but their name could be publicly revealed if the case continues in court.

Antonelli and co-counsel Del Bianco work to defend against BitTorrent copyright infringement claims by quickly moving to dismiss the case, or settle and remain anonymous.

For an overview of this type of litigation, read Jeffrey Antonelli's article, “Torrent Wars: Copyright trolls, legitimate IP rights, and the need for new rules vetting evidence and to amend the Copyright Act,” published by the Illinois State Bar Association's Intellectual Property section, October 2013.

                                                                                                 ####

About Antonelli Law
Since 2007, the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Antonelli, Ltd. dba Antonelli Law has focused on business law, education fraud and copyright law, providing a comprehensive solution to a diverse client base of business owners, consumers and professionals. Prior to forming his own firm, Antonelli worked for several law firms, including litigation boutiques in Chicago's Loop and a full service firm in McHenry County, Illinois. His litigation experience includes hotly-contested issues in lawsuits, business law, insurance, and consumer fraud, and he is well-known for his work representing hundreds of students defrauded by improperly accredited educational institutions. Antonelli was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Education Law Section Council, and is an adviser to the Illinois Board of Higher Education Advisory Council for Private Business and Vocational Schools (PBVS). His practice includes both state and federal court. For more information, visit http://www.antonelli-law.com.

About The Law Office of Mark C. Del Bianco
Mark Del Bianco’s practice focuses on the communications and technology industries. He has litigation experience ranging from state trial courts to case briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, and in recent years has litigated the constitutionality of state laws at the intersection of technology and privacy. He also provides transactional and regulatory assistance to a wide array of clients, including fiber networks, satellite service providers, business owners, application developers and cloud services providers. Prior to starting his own practice in 2003, Del Bianco was an attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice and at both large and small firms in Washington D.C., including more than a decade at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/01/prweb11461217.htm