Record $250K Porn File-Sharing Settlement Reached

XBIZ has learned that a Boston-area resident known as T.S. signed settlement papers on Christmas Eve, just four days after the gay studio filed a complaint against the BitTorrent defendant who was identified through his IP address.

Marc Randazza, Corbin Fisher's general counsel, told XBIZ he knows of no other file-sharing settlement, porn or mainstream, that has reached this dollar high.

"This case was airtight," Randazza said. "Some people fight like cats and dogs; he didn't."

Randazza noted that the defendant, who is in his 20s, is "one of our Patient Zeroes" relative to his prolific distribution of Corbin Fisher content using torrents.

"[T.S.] is not merely one of many who steal the [Corbin Fisher's] copyrighted works online, Schwaller is one of the primary sources of the stolen Corbin Fisher works circulating on the Internet," Randazza wrote in the copyright infringement complaint.

"[T.S.] provided copies of [Corbin Fisher's] copyrighted works to various torrent sites, where they were recirculated and redistributed widely," the suit said.

Corbin Fisher movies allegedly uploaded through BitTorrent and named in the Schwaller suit include "Mason Fucks Trey," "Aiden," "Connor Fucks Ryan," "Jude Fucks Austin," "Carter Fucks Justin" and "Preston Fucks Trey."

Corbin Fisher, in the settlement, agreed to halve its actual damages in the suit to $250,000, with [T.S.] entitiled to "an opportunity to reduce the amount payable to if he ceases any further content theft (whether the plaintiff’s content or anyone elses), and if he makes regular payments toward the judgment on a schedule, which will be agreed upon between the parties in a separate settlement agreement."

Attorney Evan Stone, who represents a number of companies in porn BitTorrent litigation, called the file-sharing settlement "eye-popping" because of its high-dollar sum.

"I don't know of any settlement of its kind with anything close to that figure," Stone told XBIZ. "That's wild; very surprised."

A federal judge has yet to sign off on the consent judgment.