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| US Copyright Group Drops Cases Against Alleged Hurt Locker Pirates Posted: 18 Mar 2011 01:58 PM PDT
The studio behind the movie wants to recoup some of their claimed losses and was one of the first to sue thousands of US-based BitTorrent users in the now common mass-lawsuits. Represented by law firm Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver, aka the U.S. Copyright Group (USCG), The Hurt Locker makers and other copyright holders have sued more than 100,000 BitTorrent users since last year. While the case against the Iraq war veteran is in full swing, The Hurt Locker makers have now announced a cease-fire in the BitTorrent cases. Together with the alleged sharers of Call Of The Wild, Familiar Strangers, The Casino Job and several other films, nearly all The Hurt locker defendants have been dropped from their respective cases (pdf). The studios behind these films are all represented by USCG, who decided to tell the court that they have dropped all of the John Doe defendants whose details were given out by their ISPs. Although the true reason for this decision is unknown, it appears that recent developments in similar cases may have led to the retreat. In recent months courts have ruled unfavorably against copyright holders in other mass-lawsuits for improperly joining defendants and filing cases outside of defendants’ jurisdictions. Earlier this year USCG dropped thousands of cases against alleged sharers of the Far Cry movie over the jurisdiction issue. “This is a huge victory to our clients and the thousands of defendants, and no doubt we will be sending letters of congratulations to our clients in these cases in the coming days,” Texas lawyer Robert Cashman, who represents several defendants, said in a response to the good news. Although having near 10,000 cases dropped can indeed be called a victory, it has to be noted that the cases have been dropped without prejudice, which effectively means that USCG can file suit against defendants again at a later stage if they so choose. They can, for example, decide to sue the defendants individually in their home states. Cashman nevertheless characterizes the retreat as a ‘big win’ for the defendants, to whom he reaches out in an assuring tone. “You should feel comfortable considering yourselves dismissed. The numbers are certainly on your side and while the risk of being sued individually is always present, the likelihood of hearing from the plaintiff attorneys ever again is very low.” One thing is for certain. What at first sight appeared to be a relatively effective and profitable way to turn piracy into a healthy revenue stream has – perhaps fittingly – turned out to be a legal minefield. |
| Spanish Oscars Winner Arrested For Online Pre-Release Movie Piracy Posted: 18 Mar 2011 07:27 AM PDT In 2002, Manuel Sirgo was the winner of the Spanish Academy’s Goya Award for best short film with his animated feature ‘Pollo‘ (Chicken). From this great achievement almost a decade ago, this week some corners of the movie industry are viewing him very differently. Acting on a tip from movie rights company EGEDA, late yesterday Spanish police arrested the writer, director, current Academy member and previous Warner and Disney employee on suspicion of “infidelity whilst in the custody of documents and the wrongful disclosure of secrets” – aka leaking pre-release movies to the Internet. According to the authorities, 46-year-old Sirgo and two of his employees from the “12 Pingüinos” (12 Penguins) production company uploaded various movies including Carlos Iglesias' ‘Spaniards’ – a movie that has made very little in the local market – and ‘Ispansi‘ by the same director. “I can not believe that one of our partners has played with the work and enthusiasm of so many people,” Iglesias told the Spanish media on hearing the news. “They have stolen our work. How are we able to make other movies if we do not recover the investment in this?” Police say they believe that Sirgo used an Academy computer system designed to give early access to yet-to-be-released movies as a source for illegal Internet releases. Sirgo, who has since been released, has denied all involvement and and says that his personal security codes must’ve been obtained by a 3rd party. “I’ve never used my professional status of academy member or employer to put any films on the Internet, much less films that compete or have competed for any prize,” Sirgo said through his lawyer. “When the police came to me and told me what was happening, I could not believe it. How will I pirate movies if I am a director?” However, a source in the Spanish authorities told Publico that even if telling the truth, Sirgo is responsible for his own codes. Colleagues of Sirgo found the accusations hard to believe. “He’s a very hard worker,” said animation director Pedro Delgado who knows Sirgo. “The only explanation is that someone has stolen his access code to the Academy.” |
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