LOS ANGELES — XPays and Internet Commerce Group will finally get their day in federal court Sept. 15 in a copyright infringement case that now dates back three years over the infamous Paris Hilton sex tape, One Night in Paris.
According to both attorneys — Paul Berra for XPays and David Dingras for ICG — the judge, who also handles criminal cases, has postponed the trial several times due to scheduling conflicts.
As originally reported by AVN.com in 2006, XPays asserted that ICG's website CelebrityHardcore featured screenshots and short clips of the tape, for which XPays claims exclusive online rights.
Berra told AVN.com the copyright infringement case consists of XPays having those use rights on the Web, with defenses from ICG that include fair use.
Dingras said ICG contends it had permission from tape owner Rick Solomon to use portions and pictures to sell DVDs it had purchased wholesale from Red Light District.
According to Dingras, instead of having the material removed, XPays had the entire site shut down through a DMCA notice sent to the hosting company. ICG claims XPays did not have exclusive rights and has counter-claimed it submitted a false notice to harm a competitor.
Both sides will now face off in September in federal court in downtown Los Angeles.
