LFP, Inc., and Titan Media have announced an amicable settlement of Titan’s copyright infringement action against LFP and others, which was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The lawsuit alleged the unauthorized posting of Titan’s images on the Website www.studclub.com. LFP has agreed to settle the lawsuit by payment of an undisclosed sum, and maintains that it did not have a direct role in the alleged infringement.
LFP attributes the purported unauthorized use of Titan’s images on the studclub.com Website to an oversight error by an independent contractor, who was hired by an affiliated company that was the actual owner and operator of studclub.com. LFP agreed to settle the litigation in order to underscore and highlight the need for strict enforcement of intellectual property rights in the adult entertainment industry.
In commenting on the settlement, LFP president Jim Kohls stated that “the purpose of the settlement is to underscore the importance and value of an individual producer’s intellectual property. Whether the purported unauthorized use of Titan’s images did or did not occur is irrelevant. The facts are that Titan and LFP invest substantial resources into developing their adult content, and that this content is valuable. LFP and Titan should therefore receive fair compensation for the use of their images on the Internet.
“Upon review of the facts in this case, it was clear to LFP that Titan had not been fairly compensated for its images on studclub.com. As an industry leader, both Mr. Flynt and I felt that it was in the best interest of LFP to settle this matter by paying Titan fair value for the use of their images.
“Obviously, we must all be cognizant of the need to have policies and procedures in place to ensure that use of a producer’s product is authorized and lawful. LFP is vigorous in the defense of its intellectual property rights, and appreciates Titan’s position respecting the use of its content. It is LFP’s goal that by raising industry awareness on the subject of unauthorized content use, such an unfortunate incident will not occur in the future.”
Mr. Kohls further stated that “the relationship between LFP and Titan remains amicable and it is the hope of both companies that they can work together in the future.
