The publisher of adult web site and magazine Perfect 10 has sued
major credit card companies, including Visa and MasterCard,
alleging that they have been aiding the sale of copyrighted images
stolen from Perfect 10, according to a Reuters report.
Norman Zada, the publisher behind Perfect 10, complains that the music and film industries are not the only businesses under threat because of the proliferation of internet piracy. He told Reuters:
"There probably isn't a lot of sympathy for people in the adult magazine business and that might be part of the problem. But the thieves are stealing from everybody so all the copyright holders are suffering as a group."
The problem, according to Zada, is that he cannot compete in a market where he is paying to create content for his publications, but others are simply stealing images to sell.
Visa International, First Data Corp, Cardservice International, MasterCard International, Humboldt Bank and Does 1-100 have all been named in the suit. It alleges:
"The defendants in this case ... are knowingly providing crucial transactional support services for the sale of millions of stolen photos and film clips worth billions of dollars that belong to Perfect 10 and third-parties."
