Adult Video Companies Sued For Shaking Down Illegal Downloaders

A seedy extortion scheme.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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This isn't how this story usually goes. In the content owner / illegal downloader relationship, typically the latter side is the one that's always getting raked over the coals in court. But thanks to some recent shady tactics on the part of a few porn production companies (go figure), a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of as many as 200,000 porn pirates is looking to turn the tables.

The suit, filed in a Kentucky court, alleges that Malibu Media, Third Degree Films, Raw Films and Patrick Collins Inc. are essentially extorting individuals who download their movies on bit torrent sites, Threat Level reports. Whereas groups like the RIAA have previously sued individual downloaders in attempt to route out piracy, these companies are accused of merely seeking to scare porn consumers into coughing up a few thousand dollars in out-of-court settlements.

The porn purveyors know that their targets don't want to be outed in a public trial over pornography consumption. They also know that hiring a defense lawyer for representation in such a trial would be costly. So they pressure the accused pirates for settlements in the $1,000 to $5,000 range, pocketing the cash as a quick revenue boost.

If these companies were really interested in protecting their copyright, the lawsuit argues, they would bring the cases to court, where they would stand to win up to $150,000 in damages in accordance with U.S. copyright law. Instead, the porn studios are basically acting as trolls.

[via Wired]

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