MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Mass. — A district judge denied a property owner’s latest attempt to stop distribution of adult photos and videos shot at a Martha's Vineyard rental home. The owner alleges the shoot was done without her knowledge or authorization, violating copyright over her wall art which can be seen in the background.
Leah Bassett, a Massachusetts artist, had requested an injunction order barring photos and videos shot by Mile High Distribution from continued distribution via free previews hosted on other sites.
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris denied Bassett's request.
Bassett alleged Mile High has not done enough to prevent the spread of third-party free previews of the videos in question. The judge ruled against her because Mile High had already voluntarily agreed to remove the content from sites within their control and a preliminary injunction against Mile High might not achieve much against “third parties who continue to distribute unauthorized versions of the films and photographs.”
Bassett has pursued an aggressive legal strategy towards Mile High, requesting that the company refrain from producing any adult content "during the pendency of the lawsuit" — a request she recently waived — and attempting to audit the company’s finances, a move which Mile High’s attorneys decried as “Salem Witch Trial tactics.”
In a recent filing, Mile High argued that Bassett’s legal strategy is attempting to “distract from the point, provoke responses from the defendants on stale and unrelated topics and inflame the court."
In March 2018, Bassett sued Mile High alleging one of her tenants in Martha’s Vineyard had allowed a Mile High crew to shoot in her property. The lawsuit claims that this constitutes “unauthorized commercial use of the property” and also copyright infringement over portraits and pottery Bassett created, which can be seen in the background of the scenes.
The main defendants in the case are director/producer Nica Noelle, who had been working for Mile High at the time, and studio head Jon Blitt, doing business “as Mile High, Icon Male and Transsensual.”
Noelle and Blitt have argued that those involved in the shoots were “lawful guests” of Bassett’s tenant.
