LAS VEGAS — Operators of Cheaterville.com last month filed a $40 million copyright suit against BadBoyReport.com, a rival social network site that is alleged to have "scraped" cheaters' data and photos.
The suit, filed at U.S. District Court in Las Vegas by adult industry attorney Ronald Green of Randazza Legal Group, says that BadBoyReport lifts its content by an automated process known as “scraping.”
Cheaterville’s website has operated for two years by allowing users to create accounts with the service, and then create profiles for known “cheaters” — those who have been involved with violating the fidelity of an exclusive relationship — with user-generated written, picture and video content.
BadBoyReport, according to archive records, has been on the web for several months and includes categories for cheaters, criminals and escort bad boys.
Cheaterville notes in its suit that BadBoyReport, based in South Korea, operates Slander911, a service that will remove posts if it is paid $499 through a U.S. PayPal account.
Even posts that have been adjudicated as false or defamatory remain up unless the target pays up, the suit said.
"The increased traffic BadBoyReport realizes from displaying its unlawfully obtained content from Cheaterville and using its trademarks in commerce without authorization leads to an increased number of removal fees, costing customers of Slander911 at least $499, and donations third parties make to BadBoyReport through PayPal, as compared to the donations BadBoyReport would received without using Cheaterville’s intellectual property," the suit said.
Cheaterville, operated by parent company ViaView Inc., has asked for statutory damages of $25,000 per copyright violation for a total of $40 million, plus unspecified punitive damages and attorneys fees. It also has asked the court to place a registry lock on BadBoyReport to freeze all PayPal assets pending the outcome of the case.
Operators of BadBoyReport and Green did not immediately respond for XBIZ comment.
