YNOT EUROPE – Bad news for the U.S. Copyright Group (USCG), an American law firm representing mainstream studios in a copyright-infringement lawsuit filed in West Virginia: The plaintiffs could lose the lawsuits and be unable to recoup losses to online file-sharers because the court has decided the process of discovering the identities of unknown alleged content pirates is taking too much time.

Apparently the judge is unwilling to wait the five years the plaintiffs expect to need to identify users who are accused of illegally downloading and sharing the films Far Cry, Gray Man, Call of the Wild 3D, The Hurt Locker and The Steam Experiment.

In particular, Judge Rosemary Collier objected to the cases presented by the producers of The Steam Experiment and Far Cry. The producers originally established the deadline for “John Doe” identification in July, only to extend their expected completion date until Nov. 18. When that deadline came and went with no results, the court set one final deadline. A brief hearing is expected to finalize the matter on Dec. 5.

The problem arises from the sheer number of John Doe defendants named in the lawsuit. Thousands of IP addresses must be linked to their users, and costs dictate the plaintiffs can make only 28 such identifications per month. Judge Collier ruled only those accused pirates identified by the deadline date who reside within the court’s jurisdiction may be included in the case, so hundreds of defendants are likely to be dropped.

The American adult entertainment industry is watching the drama unfold with interest, as several adult producers have filed several similar cases in the same jurisdiction.