Titan Media, Again, Wins Infringement Judgments

SAN FRANCISCO —Titan Media continues on a blistering pace demanding compensation and filing suits against copyright infringers.

Parent company Io Group Inc. on Friday said it has been awarded nearly $56,000 against an online adult website owner for infringing on the copyrights of images posted on AreaGay.com.

The San Francisco gay online adult firm also said that it was awarded $45,000 from a man who sold a CD photo collection of Titan images through auction site eBay.

“We are extremely pleased with these awards by the court,” Titan Media Vice President Keith Webb said. “But we are even more pleased that these judgments continue to amplify our warning to online thieves — if you steal from Titan, you will get caught and you will pay the price.”

Webb said that the civil judgments are a result of Titan’s continued campaign to bring to an end the pilfering of online adult materials, whether the infringers are major operations or small-time companies. He said Titan has not hesitated to file federal suits against companies caught stealing even a single photograph.

In the recent cases — both filed in U.S. District Court — the defendants did not respond to Titan’s demands for compensation.

AreaGay.com, owned by Robert M. Lauenstein and AG Entertainment, allegedly infringed on six images on AreaGay.com, a now-nonactive site; John J. Carlin allegedly infringed on five images he sold on a CD photo collection through eBay.

Titan, in court documents, said that it clearly posts copyright information on each image produced by the company, and that both defendants willfully pirated the photos. The judgments included court and attorneys fees, Webb said.

Titan has been a leading force in copyright protection issues against various websites and peer-to-peer companies that it believes aid in the dissemination of copyrighted content over the Internet.

In September the company settled a claim against LFP Inc. out of court for $400,000, based on 160 images that were allegedly pilfered.

That same month, Titan won a judgment of $418,000 against the owner of two websites, Sobe-cfg.com and Sobear.com.

The latest cases are Io Group Inc. vs. Lauenstein et al., No. C-03-3183, and Io Group Inc. vs. John J. Carlin., No. C-03-3344.

Copyright © 2025 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

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More