The federal judge hearing a Massachusetts file-sharing case has struck down a proposal to send all defendants a notice urging them to contact the plaintiff to work out a settlement. The move is yet another sign that federal judges are growing skeptical of the mass copyright litigation strategy.

The case involves the film Big Butt Oil Orgy 2 and a group of 39 Massachusetts residents who allegedly shared it with one another via BitTorrent. Critics of these lawsuits have long argued that even innocent defendants may be forced to settle simply to avoid the legal expense of a trial and the public embarrassment of having one's name publicly identified with a pornographic film, regardless of the case's merit.

The plaintiff's attorney, one Marvin Cable, filed the lawsuit last month. Armed with IP addresses, he sought to subpoena Internet providers in order to learn the identity of the defendants. As part of the discovery process, those providers will send defendants a notice informing them that their information may be disclosed to Cable. Cable suggested the text of a notice that would be sent to each of the 39 "John Doe" defendants. In addition to explaining the subpoena process and offering advice on finding a lawyer, Cable's proposed letter included the following paragraph:

The movie studio may be willing to discuss the possible settlement of its claims against you. The parties may be able to reach a settlement agreement without your name appearing on the public record. You may be asked to disclose your identity to the movie studio if you seek to pursue settlement. If a settlement is reached, the case against you will be dismissed. It is possible that defendants who seek to settle at the beginning of the case will be offered more favorable settlement terms by the movie studio. You may contact the movie studio's representatives by phone at (xxx) xxx-6500, by fax at (xxx) xxx-6500, or by e-mail at [name removed]@marvincable.com.

The implied threat is clear: if a defendant doesn't call now and pay up, his name could "appear on the public record" in connection with the film "Big Butt Oil Orgy 2" and he would be forced to fight an expensive legal battle.

Sending this paragraph to all the defendants would have made Cable's life easier, since his goal appears to be getting as many defendants as possible to settle without a fight. But Judge William Young nixed Cable's scheme, crossing out this particular paragraph before signing off on the proposed notice.

While defendants could still track down Cable's office and offer to settle with him, the letter doesn't suggest the possibility, nor does it provide recipients with Cable's contact information. Cable can still contact Does directly once he receives the subpoena information, however; he just has to wait longer and do a bit more work.

Judge Young's action is not as forceful as a New York judge's recent scathing denunciation of copyright trolls. But Judge Young's actions are another sign of growing skepticism in the federal judiciary about the litigation strategy of copyright trolls.