PornValley- XXX calls me Monday afternoon. He’s beside himself with the recitation of the JKP piracy case reported on AVN. True there is a messy legal battle going on right now involving Jill Kelly Productions, DVD Concepts, International Video Innovation, Inc and L&M Optical over pirated JKP product.
On Tuesday, all parties are meeting in United States District Bankruptcy Court in Woodland Hills to argue their case. It’s in a bankruptcy court because JKP had filed Chapter 11.
“It’s going to be a civil matter,” says XXX. “But there will be a very strong lawsuit coming against IVI and DVD Concepts. If this was not illegal product, there would not be US Marshals making seizures and forced entries. This stuff is very illegal- there’s no question.”
XXX also points out that the JKP product seized by Marshals had no sleeves, and no art.
“The sleeves they used were scanned- they didn’t use sleeves from the printer,” XXX contends. “This could not have been legitimate product.”
Meanwhile, DVD Concepts is going on record to say that JKP product in its possession is legitimate, claiming that the person they bought it from had an agreement signed by former Jill Kelly Productions CEO Bob Friedland.
“The person who I bought the videos from had the legal right to sell it to me. The document [signed by Friedland] gives us that legal right,” Alon Notea president of DVD Concepts told AVN. Zeev Lavy of International Video Innovation also rests his case on the existence of a letter from Friedland giving the right to sell the videos.
According to XXX, the agreement signed by Friedland was null and void after the bankruptcy proceedings.
“The bankruptcy courts null and voided any contracts they had prior,” said XXX. “At the point of JKP going into bankruptcy it changed all the rules for everything and they agreed to the terms on it.
“They can claim all they want that they’re resting on a piece of paper that Bob Friedland signed,” XXX.continues. “Except they were given no right to mass produce the artwork. They’re in breach of copyright infringement right there. Also, the movies they were selling were blank DVD’s, and there was no artwork on the discs. In that Friedland letter there was a protective order that stated they could not sell that product below a market value. The market value has never been below $4 for Jill Kelly product. The titles that they were selling were between 85 cents and a $1.25. Those JKP titles had been selling for $10.”