The suit, which was filed Jan. 16 in a Seattle federal court, charges that Guerilla Traffic and Porn Profit committed more than 700 separate instances of copyright infringement on more than 300 web pages.
“Falcon Foto will continue to vigorously protect its intellectual property and its legitimate licensees,” company President Jason Tucker said. “This is only the beginning of our filings for 2007.”
Falcon Foto attorney Robert Apgood told XBIZ the company has sent out a number of cease-and-desist orders to various infringers with varied results.
In the instant case, Apgood said he would seek the maximum statutory damages, but conceded that actual damages in copyright cases depend on the circumstances and how a judge and jury view the claim. But according to Apgood, the suit against Centurion sends a strong message to the industry.
“Centurion remains liable under the law for $150,000 per image, plus attorneys fees and court costs,” Apgood said. “The statutory damages in this case could be in excess of $100 million. Some say that members of the adult industry should not sue each other. Wrong. They should not steal from each other.”
While the case pits a U.S.-based company against a foreign entity, Apgood said he was confident that his client would be able to prosecute its case.
“The U.S. federal court system allows a plaintiff to sue a foreign entity in any U.S. district,” he said. “We don’t care where you are or who you are; if you steal from us, we’re going to get you.”
George of Guerrilla Traffic declined comment.