© COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT at it's worst...
OK…so explain this one to me…
With all of this talk about © this and © that, and BareBack this and BareBack that...
We recently discovered, yet another member of this community, who has been using our BOX COVER IMAGES without our permission on their site, to promote what...
I wish I knew what…
they DON'T SELL BareBack titles and are public about their position on BareBack
Go figure…and worse yet, the images are all accompanied by a tag line that reads "the DVD is NO LONGER AVAILABLE..." as if they carried at one time, or worse yet, we're out of copies or....God knows what...
(this holds true for other BareBack producers as well...)
Yeah right…this, my friends, is not a form of flattery but a very clever way in which to attract traffic to their store…
This is bull shit!
BaDaBing!
A Letter from Steven Toushin, President of Bijou World
There have been a lot of comments and tempers flaring...I am saddened to see that occurring in our own community. There was not a lack of response to private messages on my part; however I clarified with those inquiring with me that I needed to chat with our President, Steven Toushin, regarding the history of our policy and his position on your comments.
In response to this discussion, Steven has written the following:
Dear Mr. DeAngelo, Mr. Gardner, and Members of the Gay Adult Industry:
I am very concerned that you have made a slanderous accusation that Bijou World violated your copyright. Bijou World has never violated your ownership or copyright. We have never reproduced or pirated your films. All films when sold were bought directly from you, for which invoices are on file. To publicly make such a remark is irresponsible and damaging to Bijou World’s reputation.
Zyloco and Hot Desert Knights films are sold on the commercial market and are part of the history the gay film industry. At Bijou World, we sell and catalog and review as many gay films as possible that were made since 1970. From 1982 up through 1995, Bijou World had printed the Bijou Catalog (colloquially known as “The Gay Bible”). Now all those reviews and more are on our website, not including Studio introductions (which were in the printed catalog) which will be added soon with articles on the history and evolution of gay adult films.
With your slanderous accusations of copyright infringement, you are attempting to restrict our First Amendment right of free speech. You have put your films on the market in competition with all other films. We have reviewed some of your films like we do all others. There is nothing in our reviews that violates your copyright. Our primary purpose is to research, restore, and preserve gay sexuality and history. As a colleague in the Industry commented regarding your inflammatory comments towards us, “[Bijou World has] every right to use his box-cover artwork as ‘fair use’ because of your role as an informational database.”
Lastly, obviously you know nothing about what is involved in a federal lawsuit and what your liabilities are if the suit is unwarranted. The complaint will be filed, to which there will be an answer, then a battle to determine jurisdiction, followed by more motions leading up to depositions. Up to this point, your costs will run between $15,000 and $30,000. Do you have the money, when proven wrong, to pay for my attorney’s fee’s and damages for bringing an unwarranted, slanderous lawsuit?
Life is not so cut-and-dry and one-sided. This is why, in the past, those in our Industry behaved as gentlemen and ladies and rarely involved the courts. We would find ways to resolve our disputes amongst ourselves.
Do what you must; we will do what we must: that is continuing to document and catalog our history with honor and respect.
Sincerely Yours,
Steven Toushin
President
Bijou World
