MIAMI — Adult studio Corbin Fisher has filed suit against the operator and users of tube sites SunPorno.com, claiming the site has been streaming at least six of its works.
The suit, filed at U.S. District Court in Miami, says the site is rife with stolen content that has been uploaded by registered members and ready to stream to users.
It names as defendants 50 John Does and six uploaders who go by the names "Advert," "Casta," "Trikster," "Worker," "Likis" and "Tester," as well the registrant for the site with a Pompano Beach, Fla., address.
The Corbin Fisher-branded movies that were uploaded include "Noah and Mandy," "Josh and Mandy," "Dawson and Mandy," "Tanner and Mandy" and "Philip Fucks Trey." The studio said the movies have been downloaded thousands of times, with "Josh and Mandy" trading the highest at 99,000.
The suit further said that SunPorno operates an affiliate program that encourages users "to assist SunPorno in its illegal endeavor for monetary compensation."
"SunPorno’s business model also depends on ad generated income and profits," the suit said. "Each page displaying free video content has several banner ads and often has side bar ads, as well. SunPorno awards members 'tokens' for signing up and has additional tokens available for sale. These tokens are redeemable for live chat sessions with models posting directly to the site.
"SunPorno could not, and would not be able to, sell these tokens without attracting viewers to the site by using the plaintiff’s copyrighted works."
Marc Randazza, Corbin Fisher's general counsel, told XBIZ that the uploading users most likely are the SunPorno operators.
"Our investigation shows that it is very unlikely that this is truly a user-uploaded content situation," he said. "Tube sites can be run lawfully and ethically.
"When they are, we see no reason to start a fight with them. When they are not, they should expect trouble."
The suit seeks an injunction as well as damages.