BitTorrent Users Sued Over Paris Hilton Porn
The publisher behind "One Night in Paris" is suing 843 BitTorrent users for copyright infringement.
TorrentFreak reports that the company behind "One Night in Paris" is currently suing 843 alleged BitTorrent users for sharing the naughty Paris Hilton sex flick online.
Filed at the District Court of Central California, publisher XPAYS Inc's lawsuit claims that it spent "a substantial amount of time, money and effort to produce, market and distribute" the Paris Hilton film. However it's allegedly being shared among thousands of users every week via BitTorrent, thus causing profits to plummet due to mass copyright infringement.
The lawsuit takes a seemingly noble leap by pointing out that illegal distribution of Hilton's movie poses as a threat to minors given that BitTorrent downloads do not require age verification. "Minors are able to download adult entertainment content without being subject to the age verification process that most adult content providers require before distribution of this content," the lawsuit reads.
Naturally XPAYS is seeking compensation for its losses and irreparable harm to the company from the 843 BitTorrent users listed in the lawsuit. However its legal pursuits may be hampered by an amicus brief filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to stop "copyright trolls" such as XPAYS. The organization is asking an Illinois judge to deny subpoenas issued in "pay-up-or-else" lawsuits that involve alleged illegal file-sharing of porn.
"Copyright owners have a right to protect their works, but they can’t use shoddy and unfair tactics to do so," said EFF Intellectual Property Director Corynne McSherry. "We’re asking the court to protect the rights of each and every defendant, instead of allowing these copyright trolls to game the system."
Despite the EFF filing, XPAYS plans to continue on with its lawsuit against the 843 alleged file sharers. The publisher also said that it will continue to monitor BitTorrent networks for additional users sharing the Paris Hilton porn movie.
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Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then, he’s loved all things PC-related and cool gadgets ranging from the New Nintendo 3DS to Android tablets. He is currently a contributor at Digital Trends, writing about everything from computers to how-to content on Windows and Macs to reviews of the latest laptops from HP, Dell, Lenovo, and more.