Malibu Media: The Story Behind the Lawsuits

This is the Antonelli Law blog dedicated to copyright infringement cases. We’ve represented nearly 2,000 clients across the US and are America’s most experienced BT copyright defense firm.  For more information about your Malibu Media lawsuit, visit our Malibu Media page.

Malibu Media has filed thousands of copyright infringement lawsuits in recent years.

Malibu Media is an adult film production company that distributes their adult content through the website X-art.com.

Why is Malibu Media Filing These Lawsuits?

Malibu Media’s website, X-art.com, utilizes a subscription model, so users can access X-art.com’s adult content through their monthly paid subscription.

For a number of years the company had experienced a steady rise in the number of subscribers it received- however this number has slowly begun to decline in recent years. This decline sparked an investigation by the couple who owns Malibu Media, the Fields, as to why the number of subscribers had stopped growing.

According to The New Yorker, “The Fields hired an outside company to investigate whether people were watching their films without paying. They concluded that each month, three hundred thousand people were watching pirated versions of their movies—including eighty thousand in the U.S. ‘We felt like we had to do something,’ Mrs. Fields said. ‘I don’t want to wake up in five years and have everything be free.’”

Malibu Media has become one of the biggest filers of copyright infringement lawsuits in the nation. Subsequently some judges may question whether the company’s motive is to deter piracy or make money. Ben Depoorter, a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law, said, “If you’re filing three lawsuits per day, that very much looks like an abusive model. Some judges may say this looks like a business model.”

If You’re One of the Thousands That Has Been Sued by Malibu Media:

If you’ve received a subpoena from your ISP notifying you of a Malibu Media lawsuit, there are a few options.

1. Resolve anonymously: If you settle the case through an experienced law firm like Antonelli Law you will be able to make a payment anonymously before your ISP releases your name. Antonelli Law will also protect you from Malibu Media attempting to obtain any future payments for supposed download activity that occurred prior to the settlement date.
2. File a motion to quash: With a motion to quash you are trying to prove to the judge that the lawsuit against you has no merit.
3. Fight it in court: You may lose your anonymity with this option, but you have the potential to win the case and receive damages which include legal fees. If this is the right choice for you contact an experienced and tenacious law firm like Antonelli Law to fight back for you.

Which option is best for you? Each Malibu Media case is unique.

Contact us for a free, anonymous consultation with one of our ISP subpoena defense specialists: 312-201-8310