MetArt Asks Appeals Court to Revive Sex.com Suit

MIAMI — The MetArt Network on Friday appealed the dismissal of a copyright infringement lawsuit that it brought up against Sex.com.

MetArt’s suit against one of the best-known adult websites was dismissed last Tuesday at Miami federal court for insufficient service of process and lack of personal jurisdiction.

The suit, filed in June 2015, alleged damages into the tens of millions against Sex.com’s parent companies, Clover Holdings Limited Partnership and Maximum Apps, as well as director of content, Frederick Valiquette.

The copyright case claimed that Sex.com, described in court papers as the “Pinterest of Porn,” didn’t honor a repeat-infringer policy for user-submitted content.

Sex.com operators also were said to have put its own logo and link so that anyone who found it shared on another site it could always find their way back to Sex.com.

The suit alleged that Sex.com displayed MetArt content over 1,657 separate URLS, all purportedly uploaded by third-party users. Sex.com, however, was alleged to have refused to disable 39 of MetArt's works.

MetArt’s suit sought damages and a transfer of the domain name Sex.com, as well as attorneys fees.

Friday’s notice of appeal asks the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to take a closer look at the issues of insufficient service of process and lack of personal jurisdiction in the suit’s dismissal. The 11th Circuit has not yet acted on MetArt's request for the appeal.

MetArt, a Cyprus-based network of erotic sites that offer nude and explicit sex through fine-art videography, in the past few years has filed scores of other infringement claims against adult entertainment operators.

Other MetArt claims have targeted operators of DrTuber.com, XVideos.com, AdultPornVideoxx.com, JoJoBaa.net, Motherless.com, KPorno.com, Pornias.com, LikePorno.com, SpankBang.com, Porn69.biz, Porn69.org, PornHub88.com, Sex88.org, PornoWow.com, Tubenn.com, Wixvi.so, Wixvi.com, HDPorn1080.com, HDPorn1080.net, SexTVx.com, SexSeeVideo.net, Porn.com and PornVideoXO.com.

MetArt's suite of membership websites include MetArt.com, SexArt.com, Errotica-Archives.com, EroticBeauty.com, TheLifeErotic.com, RylskyArt.com, MichealNinn.com, ALSScan.com, VivThomas.com, EternalDesire.com, Stunning18.com, HollyRandall.com, Domai.com, GoddessNudes.com, MagikSex.com and BBFilms.com.

MetArt's amended complaint that was dismissed