Titan’s Keith Webb said that Pivotal Inc., the parent company of Keepstill, used TitanMen.com photographs to generate traffic, which it then directed to other sites to earn affiliate commissions.
San Francisco-based Titan, in court papers, said that at least 170 photos were used without permission on two other sites, NiceHole.com and GuysTogether.com, in addition to KeepStill.
Webb did not disclose terms of the settlement.
Pivotal brought a motion to dismiss in federal court, saying that as a North Carolina corporation with no ties to California, they were not subject to jurisdiction in California.
But U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Patel ruled for Titan in April, deciding the gay website company “adequately demonstrated that defendants published images belonging to a California company, affecting an industry primarily centered in California, knowing that harm would likely be felt in that state.”
Webb said that the ruling was important for “all adult producers based in California who have borne the brunt of massive online theft and infringement of their property.”
“It sends a clear message to online infringers that if you steal from California producers, you can expect to be coming to California for trial,” he said.
