| MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY TAKES ACTION AGAINST NEW YORK INTERNET THIEVES |
 |
 |
|
In the Northern District Court of New York, lawsuits were filed against Cindy Childers of Carthage, Jamie Bowers of Cortland and Jill Chetney of Oswego. In the Western District Court of New York, a lawsuit was filed against Julie Cranmer of Elmira. In addition, a lawsuit was filed against Becky Cavanaugh of Loch Sheldrake in the Southern District Court of New York. A few weeks ago, lawsuits were filed against several other New York residents who had been illegally swapping movies online using peer to peer software. In November of 2004, the MPAA announced that in conjunction with its members and other film studios, it was expanding its campaign against film piracy. The major movie studios filed lawsuits against individuals as end-users who have illegally downloaded or traded movies via the Internet. Since then, a number of those individuals have been contacted and asked to settle with the member companies. Those who have not settled are being named in individual lawsuits. The civil suits seek damages and injunctive relief. Under the Copyright Act, statutory damages can be as much as $30,000 for each separate motion picture illegally copied or distributed by an individual over the Internet, and as much as $150,000 per motion picture if such infringement is proven to be willful. Criminal penalties carry a sentence of up to five years in prison and up to ten years for repeat offenders. A federal interagency report published in 2004, estimated that counterfeit and pirated goods, including those of copyrighted works cost the American economy $250 billion a year. In response to the report, the U.S. Justice Department and other federal agencies have committed to increased law-enforcement and prosecutorial efforts against pirated and counterfeit goods. In September 2005, President Bush created the first ever Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement to help fight piracy. A Smith Barney study said that the motion picture industry lost up to $5.4 billion in 2005 due to piracy. In June, the United States Supreme Court in the case of MGM vs. Grokster ruled unanimously that peer to peer software companies which encourage users to illegally swap copyrighted material online can be held liable for violating federal copyright laws. Those who swap movies via peer to peer networks like the individuals above are parties to peddling of illegal materials. The MPAA and its member companies have a multi-pronged approach to fighting piracy, which includes educating people about the consequences of piracy, taking action against Internet thieves, working with law enforcement authorities around the world to root out pirate operations and working to ensure movies are available legally using advanced technology. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          Add your comment
|
||||
