A federal court, settling a bootleg video case brought by San Diego-based All Worlds Video, entered a monetary judgment and permanent "across-the-board" injunction against the owners of Peepworld, an adult video store in Manhattan.
An "across-the-board" injunction not only prohibits the sale of bootleg items that infringe the rights of a specific copyright owner, but also the sale of all other competitive bootleg items.
The action was filed after investigators discovered that Peepworld was selling a large quantity of bootleg versions of All Worlds videos in its "Male Room," an area of the store that specializes in gay videos. Acting on a seizure order obtained by All Worlds' attorney Jules D. Zalon, United States marshals raided the premises and seized hundreds of illegally duplicated videos.
"The result of the across-the-board injunction is to level the playing field," Zalon told AVN.com. "All Worlds—and all other legitimate companies—now will compete only against each other and not against the highly discounted—and often poorly reproduced—illegal versions of their products. This type of injunction basically puts the store out of the bootlegging business by making it unnecessary for each video company whose products have been illegally duplicated to file its own lawsuit against the same store. Violation of the injunction is punishable as a criminal contempt of court."
Zalon has obtained similar across-the-board injunctions from federal courts in many States, as well as previously in New York City, against illegal producers of a variety of bootleg items including records, music videos, and T-shirts.
With a catalog of nearly 1,000 titles, All Worlds Video is one of the largest producers of gay adult videos in the country. All Worlds owner Rick Ford told AVN.com, "This is an important victory for the entire XXX industry, not just All Worlds. Bootlegging is a serious problem that diminishes the value of our products and the quality of our name. I am very pleased by the outcome of this case."
Attempts to reach Peepworld for comment were unsuccessful at press time.
