SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge has ordered a litigious adult website to pay $5.6 million in attorney fees and costs under the Copyright Act, saying its motives for suing Giganews Inc. and Livewire Services Inc. had more to do with creating a tax write-off for its owner than with protecting its copyrights.

“All of the evidence before the court demonstrates that Perfect 10 is in the business of litigation, not protecting its copyrights or 'stimulat[ing] artistic creativity for the general public good,' ” wrote U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California in an order issued Tuesday.

Last month, a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles blasted Perfect 10 for “pervasive failures” and “numerous violations of court orders” in the same case, finding the abuses warranted sanctions.