TorrentSpy Ordered To Pay $110 Million To MPAA For Copyright Infringement
Wow…
File-sharing site TorrentSpy has been ordered to pay $110m (£56m) in damages to the Motion Picture Association of America for copyright infringement.
The ruling from a court in the United States comes just weeks after the website shut down.
TorrentSpy facilitated the illegal sharing of copyright files by hosting a collection of links to films and music.
TorrentSpy parent company Valence Media and its owners Justin Bunnell and Wes Park have filed for bankruptcy.
The MPAA first began legal action against the website in February 2006.
“This substantial money judgement sends a strong message about the illegality of these sites,” said Dan Glickman, chairman of the MPAA.
“The demise of TorrentSpy is a clear victory for the studios.”
TorrentSpy utilised a legitimate file-sharing technology called BitTorrent. It makes it easier to exchange large files over the internet without having to rely on central servers, with individual users sending and sharing bits of files.
In a four-page ruling, US District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper said that TorrentSpy had to pay $30,000 for “each of the 3,699 infringements shown”.
The judgement is one of the largest fines ever handed down for copyright theft.
TorrentSpy shut down on 24 March and the website now has a message saying it has closed as “the ultimate method of privacy protection”.
It states: “The legal climate in the USA for copyright, privacy of search requests, and links to torrent files in search results is simply too hostile.”
(BBC)
Nods to One Shot.
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The new face of the black market. Just when you thought it was a bunch of gnarly dope-smoking computer geek kids who beat The Man at his own game, you find our that drugs and bootleg merchandise are supporting murderous jihadists. Thanks for your contribution to the new world disorder.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:21 amPerhaps it is time that the US gov cuts the jihadists out of the drug trade by ending prohibition, if you don’t want a black market, don’t make shit that people want illegal. As far as piracy goes. Q: who the hell pays for bootlegged dvds? A: Fucktards.
Good fucking luck collecting that 110 million, and another site will spring up tomorrow. When will they learn they cannot win.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:11 pm