SANTA MONICA, Calif.—OnlyFans creator Deniece “Niece” Waidhofer yesterday filed a copyright lawsuit against Thothub.tv for allegedly scraping and spreading her images on its website.
Waidhofer, in her suit’s 91-page complaint that also alleges RICO violations, said her seminude and non-nude content has been “leaked” all over the internet after material intended only for OnlyFans and Patreon consumption was displayed on Thothub.tv, which reposts pay-walled adult content without charge to its 1 million members.
The complaint also names Thothub.tv’s service provider, Cloudflare and several adult entertainment advertisers as defendants.
“This is an action to stop a pirate website called Thothub, its members, and co-conspirators from continuing to distribute [stolen] digital content … and to hold accountable Thothub and its co-conspirators for exploiting Waidhofer’s works and body for their own ends,” the suit said.
Waidhofer is a Texas-based lingerie and cosplay model who ranks in the top one percent of all creators on OnlyFans, according to the suit filed at Los Angeles federal court. She has more than 1.9 million Instagram followers, the suit said.
Thothub.tv, the suit said, bills itself as “the home of daily free leaked nudes from the hottest OnlyFans and Patreon models” and “the biggest e-girl showcase in the world.”
Through “exploitation of creators and their works, Thothub.tv generates enormous web traffic and earns substantial revenue and profits for itself, the members and its business partners,” the suit said.
Waidhofer’s claim noted that Thothub.tv has not been responsive to repeated requests to remove pilfered content.
Her suit alleges direct, induced and contributory copyright infringement, along with misappropriation of likeness and unfair competition. She also claims that Thothub.tv and Cloudflare, along with its adult advertisers, operate as a RICO enterprise.
“Each of the defendants obtained such income with knowledge, or willful blindness, that the income derived from Thothub.tv’s racketeering activity,” the suit said. “Cloudflare causes or materially contributes to the infringing conduct, among other things, by distributing the stolen works through its content delivery network, reproducing copies of the stolen works on its servers, and shielding the direct infringers from enforcement actions.”
Waidhofer’s suit seeks an order disclosing Thothub.tv’s operators, as well as a preliminary injunction over the infringed photos. It also seeks treble damages for injuries and alleged racketeering activity.
Waidhofer attorney Charles Reiter declined comment to AVN. Thothub.tv and CloudFlare operators did not immediately respond to questions about the suit.
