Attorney Evan Stone Uses New Tactic to Fight Copyright Infringers

DALLAS — After a federal judge in Dallas severed all but one of his defendants from each of his 14 porn BitTorrent lawsuits, attorney Evan Stone is now using a new approach to get the desired results.

Stone filed in March a total of 49 subpoenas in another Texas federal district using a subpoena provision in the Copyright Act, which says any copyright holder can have federal clerks issue a subpoena for the expressed purpose of obtaining the identity of the copyright infringer.

“This is what I should have been doing from the beginning,” Stone told XBIZ.

Out of the 49 subpoenas, 14 were issued to AT&T Internet Services, Charter Communications, Comcast Cable Communications, Cox Communications, Qwest Communications, Verizon Corporate Services and Time Warner Cable and 35 were issued to lesser known service providers that have already complied, Stone said.

Seven of the subpoenas, which were filed in Marshall, Texas, include defendants who were part of Stone’s previous lawsuits, were filed on behalf of adult clients Lucas Entertainment, VCX, Harmony Films and Adult Source Media.

“All of our subpoenas provide sufficient information to locate the infringing material,” Stone said.

But, the larger ISPs are fighting the subpoenas. A judge has already granted Time Warner’s motion to quash. Stone said the judge went beyond his authority.

“We will move to have the issue reviewed by a district judge,” Stone said.“We will file an appeal and we want this addressed by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.”

Stone said that he is waiting to see if the service providers reveal the identities of the infringers at which point he will try to reach a settlement with them. He says if he can’t reach an agreement, he’ll go to court.

“If I’m forced to sue, then I’ll sue,” he said. “I’m not sure what jurisdiction I’ll do that in.” Stone added that he may seek admission to the D.C. courts because the rulings that are coming out of the courts make sense.

“If they don’t get it in Texas, then I’ll go to D.C.” In the meantime, Stone said he has resumed settlement agreements with various infringers.

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Justices Alito, Thomas Invoke Victorian-Era Morality Law, Raising Censorship Concerns

Several national publications reported this week on widespread concern among Free Speech advocates after U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas repeatedly invoked during a hearing the infamous segregation-era law the Comstock Act, which was the cornerstone of U.S. censorship of sexual material from the 1870s until the 1970s.

Skinfluential Management's FansFuel Acquires Fanwire

Creator stats and affiliate marketing platform FansFuel has acquired creator account management tool Fanwire.

Nebraska AV Bill Moves Forward Despite Privacy, Free Speech Concerns

Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature has given first-round approval to LB 1092, the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

AEBN Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN) is celebrating its 25th year in business this week.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still pursue antitrust claims in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to stay its recent decision upholding the law, because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s new age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

Show More