Update 1: Source: Film Industry Suing Computer Users
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Taking a cue from recording companies, Hollywood movie studios are preparing to file copyright infringement lawsuits against computer users they say are illegally distributing movies online, a source familiar with the studios&#39; plans said Wednesday.
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Movie studios and the Motion  Picture Association of America said on Thursday they would sue  individuals suspected of illegally distributing movies over the  Internet.
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Los Angeles - A trade group representing seven major movie studios filed a first wave of lawsuits against individuals they say are offering pirated copies of films using peer-to-peer file-sharing programs.
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The US movie industry says it is launchjing legal action to sue people who facilitate illegal movie downloading.
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The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has won a lawsuit against the operators of&#160;TorrentSpy.com, with the judge ruling in favor of the MPAA because the Web site operators tampered with evidence.In a ruling that could have implications for the privacy of Web site users, Judge Florence-Marie Cooper of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, ruled that TorrentSpy has infringed MPAA copyrights in a default judgment against the operators of the site.Cooper, in a ruling made public Monday, agreed with the MPAA that defendants Justin Bunnell, Forrest Parker, Wes Parker and Valence Media had destroyed evidence after another judge had ordered them to keep server logs, user IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and other information. TorrentSpy billed itself as a central location to find files distributed on BitTorrent P-to-P (peer-to-peer) networks.The defendants&#39; conduct was &quot;obstreperous,&quot; Cooper wrote in her decision. &quot;They have engaged in widespread and systematic efforts to destroy evidence and have provided false testimony under oath in a effort to hide evidence of such destruction,&quot; she wrote.TorrentSpy had located its servers in the Netherlands and argued that Dutch law protected them from having to turn over server logs and other information. In May, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian ruled that TorrentSpy must preserve server data logs held in random access memory, or RAM.That decision was widely criticized as being an unreasonable standard because information held in RAM is temporary, but Cooper, in her new ruling, said TorrentSpy destroyed or altered several types of evidence, including user IP addresses, discussion forum postings about the trading of movies and moderator identities. &quot;A substantial number of items of evidence have been destroyed,&quot; she wrote. &quot;Defendants were on notice that this information would be of importance in this case.&quot;TorrentSpy&#39;s lawyer Ira Rothken said his client had concerns about protecting users&#39; privacy. TorrentSpy will appeal Cooper&#39;s decision, he said.&quot;It&#39;s not a ruling on the merits of the case,&quot; he said. &quot;One person&#39;s willful destruction of evidence is another person&#39;s willful attempt to comply with customer privacy policies.&quot;The ruling, if it stands, could expose private information about Web site users in many civil lawsuits, Rothken added. &quot;This doesn&#39;t apply only to TorrentSpy, but to anyone who operates a Web site,&quot; he said.A ruling on damages in case will happen at a later date.The MPAA, which filed the case against TorrentSpy in February 2006, applauded Cooper&#39;s ruling. &quot;The court&#39;s decision ... sends a potent message to future defendants that this egregious behavior will not be tolerated by the judicial system,&quot; John Malcolm, the MPAA&#39;s executive vice president and director of worldwide antipiracy operations, said in a statement. &quot;The sole purpose of TorrentSpy and sites like it is to facilitate and promote the unlawful dissemination of copyrighted content. TorrentSpy is a one-stop shop for copyright infringement.&quot;
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Hollywood studios plan to file hundreds of lawsuits this month against people who illegally share movies online, industry representatives said Thursday.
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The US film industry is preparing to sue server operators in the United States and Europe that help relay movie files across file-sharing networks, a source familiar with the movie studios&#39; plans said.
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LOS ANGELES Nov 17, 2004 - Following the lead of record companies who curtailed rampant Internet piracy by targeting even small-time file swappers, Hollywood studios have launched a first wave of lawsuits against people who allegedly downloaded recent
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The Motion Picture Association of  America said on Wednesday it has sued a company that sells  Internet downloads of current movies like "I, Robot" and  "Spider-Man 2" without permission.
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LOS ANGELES Dec 16, 2004 - Recording companies filed copyright infringement lawsuits against 754 computer users Thursday, the latest round of legal action in the industry&#39;s effort to squelch unauthorized swapping of music online.
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The Motion Picture Association of America sued YouTVpc and Peekvid.com, claiming they illegally post copyrighted material.
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Six U.S. film studios have filed civil  complaints against Chinese file-sharing firm Xunlei Networking  Technology Co Ltd, part-owned by Google Inc , for  copyright infringement and are seeking more than 7 million yuan  ($1 million) in damages and costs, the Motion Picture  Association said.
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The Motion Picture Assn.  of America has filed suit against two Web sites that it claims  are allowing Internet users to view pirated films, many of  which are still in theaters.
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The representative for Hollywood's  major movie studios on Monday said its members have sued two  microchip makers, alleging they sold their products to makers  of equipment that can be used to illegally copy DVDs.
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The movie industry announced yesterday it will file its first wave of lawsuits later this month against those it alleges are illegally sharing copyrighted films on the Internet, joining the music industry in its fight against piracy.
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The trade group that represents movie studios filed its first round of lawsuits Tuesday against people who allegedly share copyright films on the internet.
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Blog: Advocacy group intends to file court papers in support of TorrentSpy, accused by the movie industry of encouraging illegal file sharing.