He still will have to get a lawyer to get the agreement as nobody is willing to hand it over. Then even with an agreement in hand that just means he knows if he is right or wrong and if there is any wiggle room for what they are doing. Making them stop and trying to get an award for damages is another job for lawyers. Then assuming he wins again, enforcement and collecting are an entirely different story.

All of that is a lot of cash out of pocket and companies know it.

The drama continued today but Marc appears to be doing the right thing. He and I have been in communication and all he wants is proof from everyone that they have the right to do what they claim to do.

I offered the following:
1. Access to all signed model releases and cancelled checks from talent in the 44 movies.
2. Copies of Copyright Registration certificates that were filed with the Library of Congress showing that the 44 movies are registered in my name.
3. Copy of the Distribution Agreement between Platinum X and Brandon Iron Productions for dvd distribution. All internet rights are reserved by me with the sole exception being that the content can be used at www.clubplatinumx.com.

What I believe happened is that people are taking a simple dvd distribution agreement and doing something entirely different with it. The people from Cal Vista still refuse to produce the agreement which they allege grants them the right to do this. I did not sign it but I am being told that I must live by its terms....as they are told to me....by them. Wow. I'm speechless.

Brandon, I have known you for a long time now and I know how hard you have worked on all these titles. I remember you and Steve being in the office until the late hours getting things together and I honestly believe that your titles contributed A LOT to building the brandname of Platinum X.

I think you should give john Stagliano a call, he might be able to help or at least point you in the right direction as he has fought copyright infringers before. I don't know if it could be of any use, but a phonecall can make all the difference.

Sebastian aka Dutch

Why not go ahead and take the content ya shot if you have your own rights to it and sell it yerself to webmasters?

Your situation seems complex. You need to contact a copyright lawyer and have him review your case. If you choose to pursue a lawsuit, at a bare minimum, you will need to spend many thousands of dollars. That's basically it.

That's a good question. I hope this is a good answer.
I produce content for 3 sites and 1 dvd release per month. I self-finance my stuff so I am always hustling to get the bills paid. I wear all the hats for Brandon Iron Productions so I just don't have time to do everything I would want to do.

I hear you, that's always a pain, sometimes I have a feel that there are people who sign contracts and review only the possibilities to breach them.

Therefore you always have to be more than cautious and do a decent homework before signing, the problem is, that some of those people even reigh with somehow a positive PR, which might confuse some (well, after all, you can buy yourself a lots of positive reference too).

Law and Justice meet each other often in a very much long and painful manner, that's where we always prefer an out of court settlement as for the minor breaches.

Well if it is exactly as you reffer to, Marc has to have another copy of some form of an agreement with Cal Vista, doesn't he?

Hello all,
We are now ourselves starting to doubt what is going on here, since Platinum X Europe and CalVisat is saying that they cannot give us the contracts showing that they have the rights. Sounds more like we are being used as bait to sell the content they (claim) they own or own. Adultlicenses.com is hereby seizing any distribution of Platinum X and any product related to Platinum X until this case is solved.

Basically nothing will happen until someone can prove they are the legal holder of the rights. Either Cal Visa, Platinum X Europe, Platinum X USA, Calvista or who the heck is involved in this as well.

And this is the last I heard from Calvisa

posting them on gfy is always good first step :) Ask your lawyer what to do next

I have heard both sides and will decide this case soon.

lol at JTF :1orglaugh

wow, sounds like calvista are real scumbags

i can't believe they won't show the OWNER OF THE CONTENT the contract under which his titles are sold

I would be contacting a lawyer about them before anything, sounds like they are the ones fucking you here

Foreign rights, normally this means DVD distribution in foreign countris, we are talking pieces here. Actual DVD's not internet rights. Am I dumb or does it really look like someone is trying to screw Brandon?

This isn't as complex as it sounds.

The following applies to US copyright law, but is substantially the same in many other countries.

If a copyright owner (person A) is alleging that someone (person B) is using his content without appropriate licensure, it is the responsibility of B to prove (via something in writing) to A that B does, in fact, have the rights to do what they are doing.

B cannot get off the hook simply by saying an agreement exists but they won't provide it. A can take action, perhaps a DMCA request with the ISP, to get the content removed from the web. B must then prove that the use is not infringing.

Now... if A made a license agreement with a distributor (C), but the agreement did not allow for sublicensing or web rights, then *even if* C gave a written agreement to B to license the content for the web, the agreement is not binding or enforceable, because C did not have the rights to license in the first place. So B's license agreement is meaningless and B must still remove the infringing content.

B can then go back to C and sue them for providing a fraudulent license. A can go after B for using the content without a license, and B can, in turn, go after C for providing an essentially fraudulent license. A may also be able to go after C for, presumably, selling rights they didn't own and collecting funds to which they were not entitled.

You don't need to see any of the subagreements. You are not bound to them if they licensed content they were not allowed to license, and no subagreement can change the terms of the main agreement with you if you did not agree to the changes.

If your original agreement did not provide for web rights, and you're certain of that (reading all the fine print), if B is using your content on the web, then B is infringing your rights. The fastest solution is usually a DMCA request to B's ISP and to B's credit card processor to remove the infringing content. ISPs in most countries worldwide (with a few exceptions) will honor takedown requests for infringing content that is copyrighted in the US. You can then go after B to collect for unauthorized use. B will then go to C.

The fact that you first made a good faith attempt to let B know they were infringing, and that there was a problem, is a very good thing. When B refused to remove the content, or even to check if the licensing was valid, then B became a willful, intentional infringer, and loses the ability to claim that they were an innocent victim. B can, however, recover from C, if C sold them an unenforceable license.

I don't know what the facts of the situation are, but from reading the posts, it sounds like the scenario above is a reasonable description of what you are indicating has happened. I hope this helps.

:Oh crap

Funny, I'm no lawyer, obviously. But AdultLicenses.com coming in to do damage control looks fuckin fishy. If they really had the rights to distribute internet rights, then why in the hell would anyone have a problem proving anything?
Maybe I'm too new to the world of fuck others as they would fuck you, but I wouldn't have a problem proving anything to anyone... unless I was doing something shady. :2 cents:

I apologize to anyone who has been offended by all of this. It is simply unacceptable to me to have signed a dvd distribution agreement which specifically reserves internet rights to me and then find out that I am being locked into an agreement which was brokered by others. Yes, Dani is correct about checks being cashed.....for dvd distribution in europe. I have never and would never dispute this. I remain grateful for all the help she and Cal Vista provided. That is not what we are talking about here.

I don't want this to be a long and protracted word battle. If legal advice is needed (and I think it is here), a professional should be contacted. If I did something wrong, fine. I will live with it. I don't think I did.

People who have more experience often learn things to do that benefit themselves at the expense of those with less experience. That's all I will say.

Enjoy and let's move on.