NEW YORK—According to documents filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Magistrate Judge Andrew J. Peck has ordered a settlement conference for May 19 between the parties in a copyright infringement lawsuit involving plaintiff Ventura Content and defendant Mansef Inc.
The Order signed by Peck requires that counsel attending the conference “must have full settlement authority and their client(s) must be present at the conference, as must a representative of the client's insurance company where the decision to settle and/or amount of settlement must be approved by the insurance company.”
By May 12, the parties must file a confidential settlement memorandum with the court that explains “the factual and legal background of the case as it impacts on settlement negotiations; the status of prior settlement discussions between the parties, if any; and the party's settlement proposal (range).” In the document the judge strongly suggests that the memo not exceed 15 pages and the settlement proposal “should be the realistic settlement range of that party, not just the party's ‘opening bid.’”
Scheduling the settlement conference is a routine move in such legal action and indicates no prediliction on the part of either ligitant to settle. According to one source, “Judges always order opposing parties in civil litigation to try to settle."
AVN originally reported on the lawsuit in February. Ventura Content, the copyright-holding company for adult content producer Pink Visual and the TopBucks network, filed a multimillion-dollar copyright infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Mansef, Inc., a Canadian-based company also know as Mansef Productions, and 6721851 Canada Inc.
The complaint alleges that the defendants own and operate four tube sites—www.keezmovies.com, www.extremetube.com, www.pornhub.com and www.tubeb.com—and that by means of those sites they have willfully engaged in direct and contributory copyright infringement as well as inducement of copyright infringement.
