Titan Receives $1.275 Million Judgment in Piracy Case

The company was able to track down the other 21 John Does mentioned in the original suit in a similar manner. Once confronted with Titan's evidence against them, "more than half of them" accepted Titan's offer to settle for what Webb called "a substantial cash sum." According to Webb, the defendants were from a variety of countries - including the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Switzerland - and many were prominent citizens in their communities. Architects, restaurant owners and several married men were among those who settled, Webb said. The ones who didn't, including Gonzales, claimed poverty, he added.

"In cases like this, their first response usually is something like, ?Oh, I have AIDS. I'm on disability,'" he said.

Even though Titan may never collect the money the judge awarded, the company's attorney said the case was significant.

The decision "sends a message that the federal courts are going to look at adult material, including gay adult material, in the same way as they would any other material," Gill Sperlein, Titan's corporate legal counsel, told GAYVN.com. "Typically, adult content owners are somewhat reluctant to come forward and file cases, but they shouldn't be."

The award also "sends a message to infringers that courts will find against them in these cases," he added. "Defendants have told us ?no one's going to take gay porn seriously,' but this was a respected judge - the same judge who wrote the decision in the Napster [copyright infringement] case - and she took it very seriously. She gave us what we asked for."

According to federal copyright law, damages for infringement that is not intentional start at $750 per work and can be as high as $150,000 per work. Sperlein said willful infringement typically triples the damages.

He also said the case indicates copyright abusers "can't hide. They can add layers, but so far we've been able to track down people regardless of what methods they use."

Whether or not Titan is able to collect any money from Gonzales, Webb said he thinks the man has learned a lesson about respecting others' intellectual property.