Bright Imperial Limited of Hong Kong, which operates paid pornography sites with streaming X-rated video, filed suit in California against Redtube.com, a competing porn business that does not charge users for access. The suit claimed Redtube’s free porn sites were hurting Bright Imperial’s business and constitute “unfair competition” under California’s Unfair Practices Act.
As reported by Ars Technica, the complaint charged that:
“. . . ubiquitous distribution of free adult videos through redtube.com has had a massive negative impact on the business model of adult website proprietors. . . . Now that consumers have the ability to watch high quality adult videos for free on redtube.com, fewer are making the choice to pay other adult website proprietors for the same content.”
The California Appeals court dismissed the case under the state’s anti-SLAPP statute, which is designed to cut short lawsuits that infringe on free speech.-PS
-From February 2, 2011 edition of Ars Technica