Pink Visual, Slutload Announce Settlement of Lawsuit

NEW YORK—Ventura Content, the parent company of Pink Visual Productions, announced today that it has reached a settlement with AFIC Inc., the operator of slutload.com, resolving the pending copyright infringement claims Ventura brought against AFIC in December. While most of the settlement’s terms will remain confidential, both parties have confirmed that the settlement includes an agreement that AFIC will adopt and employ the digital fingerprint filtering technology offered through the Free Speech Coalition’s Anti-Piracy Action Plan. www.fscapap.com Pink Visual President Allison Vivas emphasized that all studios that have had their content fingerprinted by FSC/APAP and that are using either the filtering will benefit from her company’s settlement, not just Pink Visual. “We’re serious about enforcing our intellectual property rights, and we’re equally serious about carrying out that enforcement in a way that produces a benefit to the industry as a whole,” Vivas said. “With each new user-generated content site that agrees to adopt this technology, the advantages of participating in the APAP program as a content owner and rights-holder increase. For all producers already taking part in APAP, whether they are using the program as a means to identify and remove infringing content, or for the traffic monetization component, as soon as slutload.com finishes integrating the filtering on their end, these studios will benefit, automatically, without so much as lifting a finger.” Ryan Milnes, the owner of Slutload.com, said that he’s pleased to have the matter settled, and hopes that other tube site owners might follow suit with adopting digital fingerprint filtering on a voluntary basis. Vivas indicated that more legal action could be on the horizon for Pink Visual in the future. “Our anti-piracy plan includes a lot of components that have nothing to do with filing lawsuits, but well-reasoned and well-targeted litigation is definitely part of our strategy,” Vivas said. “It’s not like we’re out there looking for every opportunity to sue people, but we definitely aren’t going to shy away from doing so when we feel it is warranted, either.” The Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction can be read here. For more information on Pink Visual, visit www.pinkvisual.com. For more information on the FSC APAP program, visit www.fscapap.com.