XPays Joins ‘Pirate Amnesty’ Movement
YNOT – Adult affiliate program XPays, which earlier this month received judicial permission to proceed with a lawsuit alleging more than 800 “John Does” illegally shared the infamous One Night in Paris sex video, wants its targets to know it’s willing to let bygones be bygones…for a price.
On Friday, the company extended amnesty to the alleged copyright infringers in exchange for a $500 fee. The company placed no deadline on the offer, but as attorneys and investigators already are delivering subpoenas intended to uncover users’ personal details, the deal probably won’t last long.
“XPays is pleased by the ruling of the court that we can subpoena the names and addresses of those persons that illegally obtained our content,” a prepared statement noted. “However, we are also very mindful of people’s privacy and would like to offer amnesty to anyone that would like to voluntarily come forward to resolve their case anonymously and with confidentiality.
“XPays is not pursuing this lawsuit with the hopes of embarrassing anyone or causing them any amount of shame,” the statement continued. “We merely want to protect our content. At this time anyone who has downloaded a free copy of the HotelHeiress.com Paris Hilton Sex Video, aka One Night in Paris, can resolve this matter for $500. XPays believes this to be a very fair offer and one that is a substantial discount from any that will be offered in the future.”
Under U.S. federal law, copyright infringers may be assessed damages of as much as $150,000 per instance.
Gay adult studio Corbin Fisher has reported some success with a similar amnesty offer. After extending an olive branch offering forgiveness in exchange for a $1,000 fee, an admission of guilt and a promise never to pirate content again, Corbin Fisher received “hundreds of email messages” from repentant pirates, the company’s attorney said.
Individuals who would like to take advantage of XPays’ amnesty offer may call the company’s attorney, Michael W. Fattorosi, at 818-881-8500 or [email=michael@fattlegal.com]email[/email] him.