Evil Angel Targets Pirates

VAN NUYS, Calif. – As DVD piracy forces adult companies to consider an eclectic bag of options, Evil Angel has recently been pursuing threatening to bring the law down on retailers who purchase pirated product in bulk.

“I walked a five-block stretch of 8th Avenue in New York last week, and pulled about 6,000 copies of counterfeit DVDs from (retailers’) shelves,” Evil Angel vice president Chris Norman told XBiz. “Retailers need to know they are accountable for the purchase of pirated product.”

Norman simply eyeballed the product to see it wasn’t genuine. A signature style of wrapping was missing, he said, and that was enough for him to convince store owners to open the boxes, which revealed DVDs encoded in DVD-5 format rather than EA’s standard DVD-9.

“I said to the store owners, ‘We can do this like amiable businessmen or I can have marshals here on Monday morning to close your store down.’” Norman said. “Most were very cooperative.”

Evil Angel filed suit in U.S. District Court against Direct Distributors, a New York distributor of adult product. The Complaint alleges causes of action for copyright infringement, contributory infringement, trademark infringement and unfair competition and seeks both injunctive relief and “millions of dollars” in statutory penalties.

As other companies’ representatives have stated, there are many methods of combatting piracy, each introduced at a different point in a title’s life cycle. DRM solutions like special pre-release encoding have been popular but, as Norman stated, “I have part of a warehouse full of Macrovision[-encoded] product that was compromised almost as soon as it was released.”

EA is considering adding embossed logos to the boxcovers as well as burning holograms onto the discs. In addition, each title is copyrighted and registered with the Library of Congress, at a cost of about $125 a title.

Norman noted that recent decreases in the price of DVD-R replication has led to increased privacy. He discounted DVD-Rs as a quality alternative, saying that image degeneration was apparent between master and copy.

Business analyst Christopher Lucy of Voxman Entertainment Marketing said, “Hundreds of thousands of these DVD-R movies have already been sold, and most people can’t tell the difference.”

“I can tell the difference,” Norman said. “The pictures aren’t nearly as crisp.”

Norman said that, like attorney Jeffery Douglas’ claim that every adult company will need a 2257 compliance officer, each company should have a person devoted to piracy prevention.

“It’s almost inevitable we’ll be up against piracy forever,” he said.

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

Sabien DeMonia Stars in Latest From Brazzers

Sabien DeMonia stars with Jordi El Nino Polla and Danny D in the latest release from Brazzers, titled “Double Stuffed Sabien.”

Connie Perignon Makes Her Deeper Debut

Connie Perignon has made her debut for Vixen Media Group (VMG) studio imprint Deeper, alongside Kazumi and Anton Hardon in “Bare Witness.”

Kaci Kennedy Makes Her WIFEY Debut

Creator Kaci Kennedy stars with her husband Dakota Sexton and Chocolate Rod in the latest release from Vixen Media Group studio imprint WIFEY.

Bad Bella Makes Her New Sensations Debut

Bad Bella has made her New Sensations debut, starring alongside Danny Mountain.

Siri Dahl and Friends to Host 2nd 'Corn Telethon'

Siri Dahl will host the second 12-hour "Corn Telethon" livestream with several of her friends from inside and outside the industry on Thursday, Sept. 4.

Keiran Lee Gets Star Send-Off from Brazzers Ahead of UK Homecoming

Keiran Lee is coming home. Two decades after moving from England to the United States to sign an exclusive contract with Brazzers, the award-winning performer is moving back to the U.K. this week along with his wife, fellow performer Kirsten Price, and their three children.

Lady Dee Stars in Latest From Immoral

Lady Dee stars with Paul Stalker and Charlie Dean in a new three-part release from Immoral Productions.

Adult Time Drops 'Busting Porn Myths Vol. 1' Informational Video

Adult Time has released the first volume of its new Performer Center series, “Busting Porn Myths.”

Octavia Red Stars in Final Episode of Bree Mills' 'Escape From Camp Conversion' From Adult Time

Octavia Red stars in the final episode of the Bree Mills-helmed thriller "Escape From Camp Conversion," from Adult Time studio brand Girlcore.

Octokuro Makes Her Vampired Debut

Octokuro has made her Vampired debut alongside Sata Jones in “Vampirella Unleashed.”

Show More