Marvel Uses DMCA Subpoenas to Identify Parties Responsible for Spoiler Alerts

After a disappointing box office by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (“Ant-Man”), Marvel Studios looks to shift the blame to anonymous Internet users that posted Ant-Man spoilers and leaks online, approximately two months before the movie would even premiere. In a move to fight increasingly common leaks of content online, Marvel Studios has filed legal actions against Google and Reddit to unmask their anonymous users.

DMCA Subpoena Requests

As early as January of this year, Marvel requested a Digital Millenium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) subpoena be granted against Google to find out who illegally uploaded snippets of Ant-Man script details to Google servers. Although Ant-Man premiered in theaters on February 17, 2023, the leaks preceded the movie by about a month allowing fans to know how the movie would progress well ahead of time. Ant-Man was highly heralded by Marvel because it was to be the introduction to “Phase 5” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ongoing storyline that linked together several Marvel films. To say its performance in theaters was disappointing would be a gross understatement.

According to court filings, Marvel submitted the copyright infringement takedown notice to Google on January 21st. By January 23rd, the content had already been removed from Google servers before Google could comply. The damage was already done, however, and the leaked material was easily retrievable elsewhere. Likewise, Marvel has filed subpoenas against Reddit, noting there was a Reddit thread, which preceded the Google leak by approximately two months. This thread also contained a number of Ant-Man spoilers.

Can A DMCA Subpoena Be Overly Broad 

While it is clear that Marvel blames the leaks for Ant-Man’s lackluster performance in theaters, privacy experts note, however, that Marvel’s subpoena against Reddit is overly broad on its face because it looks to not only unmask specific users in the thread, but it also seeks to identify all of the users in the subreddit. A subreddit of Reddit is a created community that is a subgroup of the entire Reddit population. Subreddits are commonly created to discuss or celebrate a particular shared hobby or topic for discussion. As such, the subpoena would potentially unmask innocent users who did nothing more than peruse the subreddit in question, never having illegally uploaded Marvel content.

Despite this, however, intellectual property owners such as Marvel argue that such actions are increasingly necessary in a fight against piracy. Such content leaks have become increasingly common, even expected in today’s day and age. Internet users, in turn, have become increasingly alarmed by subpoenas targeting online discussion forums like Reddit. And Reddit itself has stated that complying with such requests would violate their users’ right to anonymous and free speech.

In the end, it is important for legal counsel to stay atop of such new developments in intellectual property and piracy law.

Key Takeaways on the Use of DMCA Subpoenas

Content owners like Marvel Studios are increasingly looking to unmask anonymous users on the Internet that are responsible for leaking information about their movies, the latest being Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Attorneys should be aware that:

• DMCA subpoenas are becoming a tool of choice for content owners like Marvel to find out the identities of anonymous Internet users;

• Managing IP of such entities may require thorough policing of Internet forums like Reddit; and

• Piracy law is an important growing facet of intellectual property law.

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