Malibu Media runs a website X-art.com, which hosts short erotic films. It is a subscription based website and claims to have more than seven hundred erotic videos. The website claims to host videos of gorgeous models from USA, Europe, South America, etc. Subscription plans on the website range from 19.95 dollars to 99.95 dollars.
Sometime in 2011, Malibu Media realized that the business is not growing owing to wide spread piracy of its videos on Bit Torrents and by other means. After conducting a review, the company decided to take this up legally. It started tracking IP addresses where its short erotic films are being downloaded, and initiating copyright infringement suits against people using the said IP address.
As of September, 2015, one report estimates that Malibu Media has filed 4771 copyright law suits. The number of copyright suits filed by Malibu account for almost thirty percent of all copyright suits filed in USA in a particular year. Unlike the typical applications for John Doe orders where an order is sought against hundreds of unknown defendants, Malibu Media files a suit only against one Doe.
The initial response for Malibu Media’s copyright suits was very good. Firstly, it made the website popular, and secondly, Malibu started getting good results in the form of settlements. As being prosecuted for watching illegal porn is socially shameful, many individuals chose to settle confidentially instead of fighting the case. Encouraged by the initial response, Malibu Media started pursuing this course aggressively.
Every anti-piracy strategy is fraught with one issue or the other, and Malibu Media had to face its own share of problems. Some copyright actions against very old people, community users, non-resident users, etc, were met with serious criticism, and many started calling the company a Copyright Troll. One Ohio Judge went to the extent of reiterating that Malibu Media is no more than a Copyright Troll in one of his judgments. Today, there is a large community that does not consider Malibu Media’s actions to be right, legally and morally.
Despite the criticism, opposition and a few failures, Malibu Media continues to pursue its copyright action strategy. Many scholars believe that X-art.com is a genuine business producing creative, copyrighted content, and has every right to sue for infringement. The strategy is in fact well founded in law, and a few failures are not too fatal to warrant a change in approach.
Can this strategy be adopted by other content owners? It is a good option, but copyright owners of non-porn content may not get the same success. The critical element of Malibu Media’s success is social stigma, and if that is pulled out of the equation, settlements may not be very easy.
We are still very far from that world where copyright infringement is socially unacceptable, and copyright owners have no option, but to rely on a piece meal approach to bring piracy down to acceptable levels.
