Nine domain names have been seized by the U.S. Marshal's office to satisfy outstanding judgments awarded to Titan Media parent Io Group for copyright infringement and unauthorized commercial use of photographs.
The domain name registrations will be sold at public auction beginning at 9:00 a.m. on April 19.
The domain seizures were ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on a judgment rendered against Metropole News Group, LLC, Easy Planet, LLC, and Rainbow Zone, LLC.
The following domain names will be sold at auction: rainbow-zone.com, planet-fetish.com, planet-bears.com, planet-gaysex.com, planet-muscle.com, planet-uniform.com, planet-black.com, gay-bareback.net, dirty-worlds.com, and any other domain name in which Metropole News Group, Easy Planet, or Rainbow Zone have rights or possessory interests.
The action stems from a lawsuit brought in 2004 by Io Group which charged that Rainbow-Zone.com "reproduced, distributed, and publicly displayed more than 764 copyrighted photos" belonging to Titan Media.
The judgment, handed down in September 2005, awarded $1,370,250 compensation to Io Group — $783,000 for copyright infringement, $587,250 for California Civil Code violations.
According to Titan Media General Counsel Gill Sperlein, Rainbow-zone.com was made up almost entirely of illegally obtained content, including content that belonged to Titan Media. "The owners attempted to hide by using a series of Delaware limited liability companies," he said. "The only way we were ultimately able to stop the infringement and obtain compensation was by seizing their domain names.
"This is a new area of the law that few people understand," Sperlein continued. "Fortunately, the Northern District of California has judges and peace officers that get it. Unfortunately, many adult webmasters continue to think it's okay to use content without authorization from the owner."
No convicted felons and no one related to judgment debtors Metropole News Group, LLC, Easy Planet, LLC, or Rainbow Zone, LLC, will be allowed to purchase the domain names.
Each successful bidder must submit proof of identification and must participate in a short telephone interview with the U.S. Marshal before the sale is finalized.
