By J. DeVoy
The intersection of adult entertainment and the measure of statutory damages under the Copyright Act – one of colleague Ron Coleman‘s favorite subjects – all in one article from XBIZ? How conveeenient.
Ron is counsel of record with Marc and I in Righthaven LLC v. Hyatt, where, on behalf of amicus Media Bloggers Association, we made some arguments about the role of the Copyright Act’s statutory damages provisions in default judgment awards. This case, involving claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation against David Elms, founder of TheEroticReview.com (“TER,” as it’s commonly known), is a bit more complex than a simple claim for copyright infringement – though the court apparently declined to hear “most” of the ancillary claims. Plus, the copyright claim apparently went to numerous photos from four different shoots displayed on TER – potentially leading to numerous claims for infringement, or amplifying the severity of infringement if all the images were covered by one copyright.
There’s more to the story, too, including allegations of a spurned lover and a subplot of revenge.
