PHOENIX — A lawsuit against Sagan Limited and other defendants connected to Porn.com has been returned to a lower court by Arizona’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, according to documents filed Friday.
The Appeals Court ruled in favor of AMA Multimedia, LLC, which had appealed the district court’s order dismissing the lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds.
The ruling comes only a few months after a similar outcome concerning a different lawsuit brought against Porn.com owners by Hydentra HLP Int. Limited, the parent company of MetArt and SexArt.
AMA Multimedia operates the Fuck You Cash program and owns or operates a number of paysites including the Porn Pros Network.
“The district court should have analyzed whether [Sagan’s] alleged conduct was ‘closely related’” to the contractual relationship (CPRA) between AMA and one of the Porn.com-associated entities, GIM Corporation, wrote the judges.
The original lawsuit dates from 2016, when AMA, “a producer of pornographic material,” asserted copyright infringement claims against “several entities and one individual associated with the website Porn.com.” The defendants moved to dismiss for “lack of personal jurisdiction.”
The defendants also alleged a jurisdictional issue “pending resolution of an action in Barbados.”
The lawsuit described Porn.com as "a video streaming website that generates revenue through its content partnership program and advertising banners." AMA contended the defendants are owners or operators of Porn.com.
In September 2012, AMA joined Porn.com's content partnership program by “entering into a content partner revenue sharing agreement (CPRA) with GIM Corporation.”
The CPRA “granted GIM a license to use content provided by AMA on websites whose advertisements are controlled by Traffic Force” and it “dictated the manner in which AMA would provide content.”
In November 2015, AMA claims they “became aware that Porn.com had displayed 64 of AMA's copyrighted works over 110 separate Porn.com affiliated URLs.”
AMA attempted to reach extrajudicial restitution with the Porn.com owners in exchange for not filing the Arizona lawsuit, but a day before they were due to receive an answer, the Porn.com entities preemptively sued AMA in Barbados.
Back in February Arizona District Judge David G. Campbell denied a motion by Sagan Limited and other defendants connected to Porn.com, allowing another lawsuit brought against them by Hydentra HLP Int. Limited, the parent company of MetArt and SexArt, to move forward.