Pink Visual - Anti-Piracy Efforts

Anti-Piracy Efforts

Pink Visual’s Anti-Piracy strategy is directed by its General Counsel, Jessica Pena. Pena joined the company in 2008 and immediately recognized the widespread effect of online piracy both for Pink Visual and the adult entertainment industry as a whole. Pena began using litigation strategies to combat online copyright infringement focusing not only on the recovery of damages, but the use of technology to prevent future infringement. Pena’s approach has evolved to incorporate site operator litigation, legal pressure, end-user education, content removal services and the development of reasonable alternatives to piracy. “In some ways, the mainstream entertainment space is way ahead of the adult sector in terms of how it fights piracy.” Pena states, “Having said that, there are some interesting anti-piracy approaches that adult rights-holders are taking, so my goal is to encourage the minds from both sectors to come together and share ideas that will create even more effective strategies.”

In February 2010, Pink Visual’s holding company Ventura Content, Ltd. filed suit in the U.S. District Court for New York against Mansef, Inc. the owners of Brazzers, alleging that four company-owned tube sites infringed on 45 copyrighted movies. The suit was settled in October 2010, with terms that remain confidential, other than an agreement between the parties that the site operators would implement digital fingerprint filtering on their sites.

In December 2010, Pink Visual filed suit against the operators of SlutLoad.com, alleging infringement on 53 Pink Visual works. The suit was settled in March, 2011, and once again included an agreement that the defendant would implement digital fingerprint filtering.

In July 2011, Pink Visual filed suit against Motherless.com, alleging copyright infringement in connection with 19 Pink Visual works, as well as unfair competition for its failure to abide by the adult industries’ age verification and record keeping requirements. The suit is ongoing as of December, 2011.

In September 2011, Pink Visual filed suit against Two Point Oh Ltd., which operates multiple popular adult sites, alleging infringement on 92 Pink Visual works. The suit was settled in December, 2011 under confidential terms. However, the parties entered into a consent judgment whereby Two Point Oh recognizes that digital fingerprint filtering is a reasonable technical measure to prevent online copyright infringement in the adult arena.

In addition to the litigation the company has undertaken to combat copyright infringement, Pink Visual has also organized and hosted two Content Protection Retreats, (CPR) in order to provide information to other adult studios on copyright law and engage in discussions regarding industry strategies, as a whole, to combat piracy. The first CPR took place in October 2010, in Tucson, Arizona. A second CPR was held in February, 2011 in Hollywood California. Dozens of adult entertainment studios participated in the events, hearing presentations from intellectual property attorneys, companies that provide content take-down services and other experts in copyright enforcement and anti-piracy strategy.

Pink Visual cites a clear anti-piracy policy to their consumers and looks to educate end-users about the dangers and risks of piracy. Pink Visual content is prohibited from being distributed on torrents and Cyberlocker sites. Pink Visual recommends that consumers purchase legally and provides numerous methods for consumers to access their content legally. Illegal downloads of PinkVisual content are prohibited and considered copyright infringement.

In 2012, Pink Visual established an anti-piracy service of its own that performs online copyright infringement location, trademark monitoring, copyright registration and DMCA takedown notice services for rights-holders.