DALLAS—Command Cinema has defended its copyrights over several adult films with a legal victory in a Houston federal courthouse on August 9, 2013, successfully ending an 18-month fight to make an example of at least one internet content pirate, the company said today.
In March of last year, Eric Green of Removeyourcontent.com found that the websites MegaClassicPorn.com and ClassicPornBox.com, operated by Floyd Hodges of Houston, were selling memberships to a large collection of classic adult videos from the 1970s and ‘80s. The sites featured several copyrighted Command Cinema classics, including Platinum Paradise, Neon Nights, Babylon Pink and Foxtrot. Green alerted Command’s exclusive distributor, HotMovies.com, and began gathering evidence.
“Removeyourcontent had already been working with HotMovies.com for years in an effort to limit piracy of certain movies for which HotMovies.com holds exclusive internet distribution rights,” said Green. “The Command Cinema line has always been a priority for us. After confirming that Hodges was running an illegal pirate operation, we reached out to HotMovies.com and Command, who then pursued legal remedy through the courts. Stone & Vaughan, PLLC signed on to handle the case and we are happy to report the Southern District of Texas has ruled in our favor.”
Evan Stone, lead counsel for Stone & Vaughan, said presiding judge Lynn N. Hughes was fair and expedient in his handling of the case. “Uniquely, he managed the entire discovery process himself, ordering the parties to promptly disclose the evidence he felt was most relevant,” said Stone. “This was very convenient overall, but restrictive for some areas of inquiry.”
In his pleadings, Hodges argued that his copies of the films did not merit infringement because they were dubbed in German. Stone responded that such an alteration, in an adult film, was not sufficiently transformative to make a difference. “One need not examine the films themselves to know that the meat of an adult motion picture is typically not the dialogue,” he said.
The judge agreed with Stone, issuing a ruling that should reassure adult studios that piracy will not be tolerated in Texas.
"I hope this sends a clear message to other site operators profiting from stolen content," said Cecil Howard, the legendary producer/director behind Command Cinema. "I invested my time, my money and a lot of sweat to make special movies for a discerning audience. These pirate sites are offensive, illegal and in general disgust me. Take note, we will stand up and defend what is ours."
