$6.4 Million Judgment in Revenge Porn Case Is Among Largest Ever

In the California case, Ms. Doe already held the copyright to the sexually explicit images that she had shared privately with Mr. Elam because she took them herself. But when he started to publish them without her permission, she registered her ownership, which is a prerequisite for her to seek relief under federal copyright laws, Ms. D’Amico said.

“In many instances it is easier for a victim of revenge porn to have photos of herself and himself removed from a website if they own a copyright registration,” said Seth A. Gold, the lead lawyer on the Doe case.

The judgment included $450,000 for copyright infringement, $3 million for severe emotional distress and $3 million for other damages, including stalking and online impersonation with intent to cause harm.

The K&L initiative has counseled thousands of victims of sexual cyber harassment since it started, Ms. D’Amico said. In 2017, a couple in the Seattle area was awarded $8.9 million in a judgment against an Arizona man who posted sexual images they had shared with him online, and sent them to people they knew, court documents said.

“A lot of times individuals will engage in victim blaming,” Ms. D’Amico said. “But when images are shared within the confines of a private relationship, it is recognized that there is a right to privacy there.”

Article Appeared @https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/us/revenge-porn-california.html?module=WatchingPortal&region=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=thumb_square&state=standard&contentPlacement=13&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2018%2F04%2F11%2Fus%2Frevenge-porn-california.html&eventName=Watching-article-click

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