Porn video website sues local residents over pirated material

A company that operates an adult pornographic video website filed federal copyright infringement lawsuits against nine area residents Friday, including four people from Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties.

Malibu Media Inc. of Westlake Village, California, alleges the defendants, who are not identified by name, used BitTorrent programs to illegally download videos from its subscription-based website, X-Art.com, without paying for the content.

The lawsuits join thousands of other federal lawsuits the company filed nationwide, including 100 within the Middle District of Pennsylvania since 2014.

“My client takes this very seriously,” said attorney Christopher Fiore, of Harleysville, who represents the firm in the Pennsylvania lawsuits. “(The owner) has testified Malibu Media invests significant time and financial resources . . . It must enforce its copyrights to continue to grow its subscriber base.”

The lawsuits identify the defendants as “John Doe” and by their Internet Protocol (IP) address because their names have not yet been determined. The company also filed a motion seeking permission to issue subpoenas to the defendants’ internet service providers to obtain their identities.

Exhibits filed with the lawsuits show the two Lackawanna defendants live in Scranton and Olyphant; the Luzerne County defendant is from Hazleton, while the Wayne County defendant resides in Honesdale. They are accused of downloading seven to eight videos each.

Jeffrey Antonelli, a Chicago-based attorney who has represented more than 700 people sued by Malibu Media, said the company has come under fire for its aggressive approach. While some defendants do illegally download the company’s property, some people who did nothing wrong also have been targeted.

Antonelli cited the use of “spoofing” software, which allows a person to use an IP address and make it appear as if it’s a different IP address.

“People spoofing an IP address can be anywhere in the world and pretend to be me,” he said. “It’s like a fake driver’s license.”

Even if a person is innocent, there’s a strong incentive to settle the cases because of the high cost to defend them and potential for damages, which can range from $750 to $150,000 per video, he said.

“Critics believe they are trying to use litigation as a revenue tool rather than trying to fight piracy,” Antonelli said. “I can’t make a judgment on what goes on inside their minds.”

Fiore defended the company’s practices. He noted the firm typically targets people who have downloaded multiple videos over a long period of time.

He said the company hopes the latest round of lawsuits sends a clear message to anyone considering pirating its videos.

“We are letting all infringers know, we are out there,” he said. “This is important to us and we are going to enforce our copyrights.”