Porn Company Vivid Sues Its Own Customer Over Copyright
Written by enigmax on December 11, 2007Vivid, the world’s leading adult film company is sueing PornoTube, a YouTube-like site offering XXX content. Vivid claims that its content is available on PornoTube without permission or compliance with age verification rules. Interestingly, PornoTube’s owner, AEBN, is actually a Vivid customer already.
One of the world’s largest adult film creators, Vivid Entertainment Group, has had enough of free porn site, PornoTube.com and is taking legal action against it. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the lawsuit against PornoTube’s parent companies ‘Data Conversions Inc’ and ‘AEBN’ states that the defendants “copied, published, distributed and publicly displayed Vivid’s copyright works through the website PornoTube.com”
The lawsuit states that the “defendant’s business plan depends on the uploading, posting, display and performance of copyrighted audio-visual works belonging to Vivid and others” and that the defendants “knowingly built a library of infringing works to draw Internet traffic” to its website.
Listing dozens of Vivid movies available to view on PornoTube (PT), the lawsuit claims that these were uploaded by PT’s users after being encouraged to do so by PT. Under US copyright law, each offense could carry damages of $150,000 per infringement. In addition to an injunction to halt any further potential infringements, the lawsuit seeks damages of $4.5 million.
Additionally, it’s claimed that PornoTube fails to comply with the federal Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act. Although the Act covers those who produce sexually explicit material (PornoTube do not), there is another category of producer known as a ’secondary producer’ - which is anyone who publishes and reproduces content - a category under which PornoTube seems to fall. Vivid’s attorney, Paul Cambria said: “Once they put up any material on their site and fit it into their format, they are no longer just a ‘pass through’ medium—they have become producers or distributors under the law.”
According to the suit, PornoTube fails to take steps to validate the age of the actors in the videos it carries, explained here by Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of Vivid: “PornoTube and AEBN have exactly the same responsibility as any other adult content distributor or producer to obey U.S. copyright laws and 2257 regulations”
Vivid also believe that due to PornoTube avoiding the costs associated with conforming with the ‘2257′ regulations, they have an unfair competitive edge: “Vivid spends enormous sums to copyright its content and to comply with the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act age verification process. PornoTube and AEBN have been getting away with a practice that unlawfully earns it millions of dollars at our expense.”
Apparently, Vivid’s attorney, Paul Cambria, is happy to use the DMCA against PornoTube but is unhappy at the way it operates in other areas, particularly take-down requests: “Vivid should not have to take responsibility for policing PornoTube on a minute by minute basis to protect its rights,” he said.
Interestingly, AEBN - owner of PornoTube, who describes itself on its site as the “Global Leader in Pay-Per-View”, is actually already a big customer of Vivid Entertainment, as can be seen from this section on their site, where they are listing 971 Vivid movies available for paid download.
The RIAA and MPAA have been sueing their own customers for years, so the porn industry is playing catch-up here. However, this action against PornoTube is just the tip of the iceberg. The porn industry is about to start targeting file-sharers using the same tactics as the RIAA and MPAA - infringement notices will be appearing in mail boxes shortly.
Stay tuned for that report very soon.
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73 Responses
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This is in America right? If enough people get together, they can buy new laws.
I think laws in the U.S. are expensive to buy though.
People having sex can be copyrighted????
what a country
PornoTube is about one out of a gazillion websites that host porn content for free. What a bunch of morons. Are they going to sue the whole fucking internet.
[quote comment="237209"]PornoTube is about one out of a gazillion websites that host porn content for free. What a bunch of morons. Are they going to sue the whole fucking internet.[/quote]
That’s what people were saying about music etc. several years ago.
Corporate cunts are here to make us all conform and pay up to support thier fat arses.
Vivid get screwed
I am concerned that a “friend” is suing a “friend”.
Doesn’t that strike you as “odd?”
If one side wins, and gets a landmark ruling against bit torrent usage, we’re (all the non porn users) are in trouble. This legal precedent will be ceased upon.
So I have to wonder, if these 2 companies have been “paid” to sue each other by unnamed American corporations… (who can’t afford to publicly loss a case) in order to get the legal precedent.
This is almost totally irrelevant to torrenting.
Vivid is aping the RIAA anti-strategy of suing your customers and killing your own business. Sad for them, they too don’t have a clue how to run their business!
Yeah who cares TF, please stick with torrent related news…
The Vivid-guys are idiots. Everybody know porn can make users addicted. So if I were public-relations-manager at vivid I would support controlled supply of porn on youporn or whatever. Once people get the addiction for porn they want more and more - new consumers for vivid. Damn I should grow my own porn-company!
if you like pornotube or youporn youll love http://www.theadulttube.com - check it out!
If Vivid thinks they’re going to stop the flow of porn by suing the shit out of one (if i do say so myself, shitty as hell) website that hosts porn, they have to be more retarded than a head of lettuce. Let’s see here, Corporate America vs millions, if not billions, of people who desire free wanking material. It’s a god given right to masturbate and I know there are million’s of file sharing 15 year olds that are willing to go to the ends of the earth to get free porn. Silly lawyers, I say let them fight all they want, they can never win this battle.
[quote comment="236935"]He he he … what they going to do? Claim the copyright of the content!! Ha ha ha!! What a circus![/quote]
I think it is just as important to express our opinions say at youtube.com or myspace.com
these are a great place to socialize, rant, make friends…
i’ve been there and it is wild as jungle :D
sharing will never die
because people like me never stop sharing
Internet was just4porn.
Now you take out the porn, and what’s left there?
useless internet.
Can’t we just nuke them? To Stop The CopyRight insanity? Please??
Uncle george?
…
>Snif!<
what was that i dindt read the story i was to busy wankin it.
with all my free porn.
lol
why do they do this?
lawyers annoy the hell out of me
even worse are the “professional” cock suckers they work for.
hey maybee they can go fuck themselves, copyright it, make millions and live happily ever after, oh wait that wont work…..i can see that for free on a gazillion webcams worldwide…
in the comming years capitalisim will die, along with all who support it.
Churchill Alexander:diplomacy rewritten Etruria disliking.redisplaying quorum
[quote comment="236771"]i personally like being on PornoTube. the more people who tug their wangs watching me the better![/quote]
Check out http://www.pornotubeblog.com for a collection of the best porn tube videos :)
[quote comment="237415"]Vivid get screwed[/quote]
[quote comment="236878"]I think youporn is way better.
I think porno tube is screwed.[/quote]
[quote comment="236876"]Amateur > Pro.[/quote]
[quote comment="249588"]Check out http://www.pornotubeblog.com for a collection of the best porn tube videos :)[/quote]
[quote comment="249588"]Check out http://www.pornotubeblog.com for a collection of the best porn tube videos :)[/quote]
I can’t imagine how those companies will respond to trackers like http://www.puretna.com, http://www.cheggit.net, etc. that catalog almost the entire adult film history available for download.
Lol, I can’t imagine the porn industry making enough money to feed themselves if these sites keep growing.
I found this site and have a nice video. Check out http://blog.judgeporn.com/ and enjoy ;)
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