Pink Visual Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Decide DMCA Case (XBIZ)

Read the full article by Rhett Pardon at XBIZ.com

WASHINGTON — The parent company of Pink Visual, once a commanding web platform for original adult content, has filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to review its copyright infringement lawsuit against adult tube site Motherless.com.

The decision to seek a high court review comes after Pink Visual’s parent, Ventura Content, was denied a rehearing at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after it sued Motherless after 19 copyrighted films, including 33 scenes, owned by the web platform, were found on the adult tube site.

The case was dismissed in 2013 on summary judgment after U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson in Los Angeles ruled that Motherless' operators were entitled to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's safe-harbor provisions as an internet service provider.

Pink Visual, in its suit, alleged Motherless.com hadn't “reasonably” implemented effective procedures, including expelling repeat infringers, for dealing with DMCA-complaint notifications over stolen content. It contended in court proceedings that Motherless.com wasn’t merely a passive receptacle of postings over which it exercises no control.

But the 9th Circuit rejected Pink Visual’s contention that Motherless.com exercised such tight control over the content that it, and that its third-party users were responsible for the postings.

In its petition for a writ of certiorari filed at the U.S. Supreme Court last week, Pink Visual’s counsel, Peter Afrasiabi, said that federal courts are creating “a new monster” by allowing full immunity to online pirates.

At post time, U.S. justices have not determined they will take the case. If the court does take the case, it would be the first time justices have reviewed the DMCA.