• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, September 2, 2015

Producers of movie "Survivor" have sued 16 Comcast subscribers for infringing copyright by allegedly using the BitTorrent app Popcorn Time to download the film.

The studio, Survivor Productions, doesn't yet know the identities of the alleged downloaders, who are named only as "Anonymous Users of Popcorn Time" in the complaint.

But the company says it has obtained IP addresses associated with the downloads, and is seeking a court order requiring Comcast to disclose the names of subscribers assigned to those addresses. Survivor Productions adds that even if the account holders didn't themselves watch the Pierce Brosnan picture, they're "likely to have knowledge" that will identify the downloaders.

"Without a doubt, each user of Popcorn Time is provided multiple notices that they are downloading and installing software for the express purpose of committing theft and contributing to the ability of others to commit theft by furthering the BitTorrent piracy network," the studio says in its lawsuit, quietly filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Oregon.

The developer of the rapidly growing Popcorn Time told Wired earlier this year that the app has "millions" of users and is downloaded more than 100,000 times each day.

The app itself is a BitTorrent service, but with an interface that makes it relatively easy for people to stream movies.

Some courts in other countries have reportedly ordered Internet service providers to block access to Popcorn Time, but the site itself on the home page that it "will never be taken down."

Popcorn Time also says it offers a free virtual private network, which aims to preserve users' anonymity.

The complaint filed in Oregon contains rhetoric that goes well beyond the typical language in copyright infringement lawsuits: Survivor Productions suggests that anyone who has installed the app has engaged in a "conspiracy" to infringe copyright.

"Each user of Popcorn Time expressly joins in a conspiracy to jointly commit theft of copyrighted material," the lawsuit alleges. "Popcorn Time cannot be considered to have any reasonable legal or legitimate use."

Despite those allegations, the law doesn't actually prohibit people from using BitTorrent apps, according to Mitch Stoltz, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

"That's bluster and hyperbole," Stoltz says of the broadest claims in the complaint.

He people can use BitTorrent apps for lawful purposes. "No part of copyright law, or any other law, says that possession of a BitTorrent app is illegal."