Malibu Media, the adult film studio known for suing torrent users, could lose its lawsuits for failing to pay US taxes. The website torrent freak found that Malibu Media has until Jan. 20 to be up to date with the IRS. Otherwise, all lawsuits against illegal downloads will be dropped.
The company had its corporate status suspended in 2021, precisely because it was not up to date with taxes. Created in the mid-2000s, Malibu Media became famous for practice of copyright trolling: when copyright owners opportunistically send notifications of extrajudicial proceedings to those who “violated” these rights, sometimes without even having . The company is accused of carrying out an extortion scheme with the practice of copyright trolling.
Like the beloved character from the series Chaves, Malibu Media has been owing taxes for a few months. The news of the suspension published by the torrent freak in March 2021 — much more than the 14 months of rent owed by Seu Madruga.
In one of the two copyright cases still open by the company, the accused of copyright infringement asked in December 2022 for the action to end as Malibu Media has its legal status as a company suspended, which makes it impossible to maintain a lawsuit.
How did you discover the torrent freak, Malibu Media has until January 20th to regularize its situation with the American revenue or it will lose its main (and unfair) weapon against torrent users who have downloaded its contents. However, the process can be reopened if it regularizes the tax situation.
To make matters worse, the studio was not winning the lawsuits against those accused of illegally downloading its movies. In 2021, the Malibu Media had to pay $100,000 to a wrongfully accused user to download company content. In recent years, American justice is acting more firmly against copyright trolls. Malibu Media was accused of promoting an extortion scheme with its shares.
Copyright practice usually follows a pattern. The message is sent to the user’s email address, which may still be the victim of mistaken accusation, and aims to extrajudicially negotiate compensation for the crime. With this intimidation, which uses data obtained by ISPs, some users may be afraid of a court case and end up paying – with the possibility of winning.
Without getting into discussions about the impact of pornography on society, the main factor used by Malibu Media against its targets is the stigma that falls on the consumption of content.
In a strongly Protestant country like the United States, and whose conservative population is more active, being exposed in a lawsuit for downloading adult movies can be shameful for one’s reputation. Malibu Media capitalizes on the fear of social judgment (whether by religion or otherwise) that these users may feel to profit.
However, not just Malibu Media, but other copyright trolls are suffering from the defendants’ favorable court rulings. In an interview for Ars TechnicaMatthew Sag, professor of law, explained that judges are becoming more attentive to cases opened by copyright trolls. But there are still courts that don’t understand the extortion behind the cases.
With information: torrent freak and Ars Techinica
https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/2023/01/10/empresa-que-processa-usuarios-de-torrent-enfrenta-seu-maior-inimigo-impostos/