Vixen Media Group (the guys who own sites like Vixen, Blacked, and Tushy) continues its battle against people who steal and illegally download their movies.

In short, someone can sue you for illegally using something they own the right to. It falls under copyright law. Not just porn, but the same thing goes for music as well. In short, if you don’t own it, you can’t use it without the permission of the person who does.

They filed suit against 24 copyrighted works, whereas the plaintiffs illegally downloaded their movies via BitTorrent.

The accused defendants have requested to be identified by pseudonymity and not their legal names as part of the proceedings.

As most court records are open to the public, they didn’t want their legal names out there, associated with porn apparently.

Parties describe the basis for sealing as: the potential of Defendant’s present and prospective employers discovering Defendant’s involvement in this case resulting in adverse employment consequences, his reputation becoming irreparably tarnished, and financial losses. While embarrassment is a consideration in favor of sealing, courts have denied motions to seal based solely on embarrassing information or general financial records….

The judge however rejected this request.

The Court notes that while litigants have an interest in privacy, the public also has a right to obtain information about judicial proceedings.

The process of this public taxpayer-funded court should be as transparent and open for all the world to see as the law provides.

A party may proceed anonymously only in “exceptional” cases. The potential for “embarrassment or economic harm” is not enough to justify anonymity.

The lesson here is, don’t steal porn if you don’t want your name to be outed as a guy who … you know … steals porn.

While courts have allowed litigants to proceed anonymously in cases “involving matters of a highly sensitive and personal nature,” the Court is not convinced that defendants accused of illegally downloading adult pornography are entitled to anonymity simply because the allegations suggest they viewed materials of a sexual nature. Even in cases that touch on sexuality, there must be a reasonable fear of harm above and beyond mere embarrassment.

Vixen is one of the most active companies in fighting illegal downloading of their content and has filed a ton of lawsuits against people who they have caught.

Fighting these kinds of claims for the accused can be costly but in not doing so, it could cost the person even more – up to $150,000 per violation. That’s a lot of money to risk for illegally downloading a single movie.

In general, anyone found guilty of civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or “statutory” damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For “willful” infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. In addition, the infringer pays for all attorneys fees and court costs. 

If you don’t own something, you can’t use it without first getting the permission of the owner. So just what are some examples of copyright infringement? Let’s take a look …

• Downloading music or movies without paying for their use
• Copying any literary or artistic work without a license or written agreement
• Recording a film in a movie theater
• Posting a video on your website or social media which features copyrighted words or songs
• Using copyrighted images on your website or your social media
• Creating merchandise for sale which features copyrights words or images