Cases against a long list of John Does are dropping like flies thanks to the "an IP address is not a person" mentality.

ZoomOn May 4, Illinois lawyer John Steele filed a case against numerous anonymous "John Doe" file-sharers on behalf of New York company Boy Racer, a "premier name within the alt-porn niche." As with many other bulk lawsuits filed by movie studios and record companies, the suit began with a long list of IP addresses recorded by said companies. And had it been approved for the next step, the court would have ordered ISPs to pull up the personal records of each address whether they actually downloaded the illegal files or not.

But two days after Steele submitted the lawsuit, it was dismissed by Judge Milton Shadur who said he didn't want to see any more "John Doe" cases in his court. "It would seem feasible for Steele and his client to pursue the normal path of suing an identifiable (and identified) defendant or defendants rather than a passel of 'Does,'" wrote Shadur. "Moreover, that practice would also facilitate the determination as to which defendant or defendants is or are amenable to suit here in Illinois."