Titan Media was one of the beneficiaries of a successful lawsuit brought by Australia's Adult Industry Copyright Organization (AICO) against Venus Adult Shops for DVD piracy.
AICO had sued the chain of adult stores on behalf of Calvista Australia, Titan's Aussie distributor, and Fraserside Holdings Ltd, an adult production company whose products had been pirated along with Titan's.
Calvista and Fraserside Holdings are expected to claim over $300,000 in damages, interest, and costs from Venus Adult Shops. This follows the dismissal by the Australian Federal Court on March 28 of an appeal brought by Venus Adult Shops after it lost the initial suit for copyright infringement.
"Three years ago I walked into one of the Venus stores in Sydney," recalled Keith Webb, vice president, Titan Media. "I picked up all our pirated DVDs and walked out with them. I left my business card and a message that said 'Stop pirating Titan DVD or we will sue you!' They didn't listen to our warning."
In dismissing the appeal, the Court also ordered that Venus Adult Shops pay the cost of the motion to Calvista and that the original Judgment of August 18, 2005, of the full Bench be entered "forthwith." In that original decision, The Federal Magistrates Court found that Venus had "flagrantly infringed" the copyright of Fraserside Holdings and their exclusive Australian distributor, Calvista Australia.
In commenting on the court's actions, Graeme Dunne, AICO Executive Officer, said, "This latest Judgment continues to vindicate our enforcement program and uphold the copyright of AICO's members. Adult film pirates should understand that this decision gives AICO's members added confidence in all current and future piracy matters."
Fraserside Holdings, Calvista, and Titan Media are all AICO members.
