TorrentSpy Slapped with $110 Million Judgement
Written by Ernesto on May 07, 2008TorrentSpy has been ordered to pay a $110 million fine by a federal judge in Los Angeles. The BitTorrent site was found guilty on the charges of copyright infringement of several movie studios represented by the MPAA.
This default judgment is the result of an ongoing court case between the MPAA and Valence Media, TorrentSpy owner Justin Bunnel’s company, that started early 2006.
It is uncertain at this point whether TorrentSpy will appeal.
Unsurprisingly, MPAA’s Dan Glickman was very pleased with the outcome of the case that lasted over two years, as he said:
“This substantial money judgment sends a strong message about the illegality of sites. The demise of TorrentSpy is a clear victory for the studios and demonstrates that such pirate sites will not be allowed to continue to operate without facing relentless litigation by copyright holders.”
“The claims made by the MPAA in this case don’t stand up to any sort of scrutiny,” says Andrew Norton, head of the US Pirate Party in a response. “It is also clear that our judicial system urgently needs some unbiased education in modern technical matters, as anyone that has watched this case knows the judge is out of her depth. What chance does justice have in that situation?”
In 2006 TorrentSpy was more popular than any other BitTorrent site, but this changed quickly in August 2007, when a federal judge ordered TorrentSpy to log all user data. The judge ruled that TorrentSpy had to monitor its users in order to create detailed logs of their activities, and hand these over to the MPAA.
In a response to this decision - and to ensure the privacy of their users - TorrentSpy decided that it was best to block access to all users from the US. This led to a huge decrease in traffic and revenue.
This was not enough for the MPAA, who argued that TorrentSpy had ignored the court decision. The legal battle continued, and this lead to a preventative closure of the site by Justin, to protect the privacy of its users.
UPDATE - Wired have the judgement available in their coverage here
UPDATE - TorrentSpy will appeal the decision.
Previously: Test: Does Your ISP Slow Down BitTorrent Traffic?
Next: MPAA Demands $15 Million from The Pirate Bay
157 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
well that sucks.
Not too much of a blow. The fine was more for not cooporating with the first court judgement. Unlucky but well done TS for trying to do the best thing for it’s users.
Truly an epic fail amongst a sea of fails.
Who cares if ur first.. So what where the grounds for the fine? was it for ignoring the earlier court ruling or what? What evidence did the MPAA have.. Slightly more informative articles TF!!
that was the first site i used when i started torrenting, sucked hard at the end of its life though, alas sad to see it go
The main reason they got found guilty is because they used to actually have catagories sections like CAM TS TC DVDSCR etc etc, I remember when they dissaperead and i wondered why then it came to light that they had been took to court so they quickly removed these but it looks like they wasnt quick enough.
bloody hell… 110 million dollar fine! Suck to be honest! death to MPAA!
well, he can declare bankrupcy and the mpaa with never see a goddamned dime.
they’re still killing themselves
That..
That really sucks.
No donation fund?
Ok and TorentSpy is supposed to pay this fine how? I know BT sites that create a lot of traffic can make some decent cash but $110,000,000. I live in the U.S. and I say that we really,really suck.
Fuck you MPAA Communists.
No way that fine will actually get paid. It is absurdly high and only meant to serve as a fear tactic to other torrent sites. Fortunately, for every torrent site they shut down, many more exist, and people will continue to find ways to share files without the big-brother oversight of the MPAA.
I also applaud TorrentSpy’s effort to maintain privacy in an increasingly public world.
What a disgrace from the USA judical system. A system based to serve the fat cats like the MPAA. How is the amount fined representitive to the case? You wonder as well if these judges in cases like these have the expertise to make a judgement.
What a ridiculous fine! Does the MPAA really expect TorrentSpy to pay that much when there’s no way they have anywhere near that amount of money.
“The claims made by Andrew Norton, head of the US Pirate Party, don’t stand up to any sort of scrutiny. Anyone that has watched this case knows the judge - Florence-Marie Cooper - is FEMALE AND THEREFORE NOT A HE.”
“The main reason they got found guilty is because they used to actually have catagories sections like CAM TS TC DVDSCR etc etc”
No, the main reason they got found guilty is because they destroyed evidence and retained IP information when they said they didn’t. Anyone who ever though TSpy was there ‘on behalf of the community’ was an idiot. They were always the most money-grabbing portal out there. All those ads with the skanky girls and pop-ups and whatever…. No wonder everyone fled to Mininova who at least give the impression of caring about their users, however much cash they might be bringing in.
“No, the main reason they got found guilty is because they destroyed evidence”
Thats exactly what i said!!!
They deleted the catagories from there site, which is destroying evidence. This was one of the MAIN prosections evidence as it showed they was specifically aimed at pirated/illegal sources.
This case and every other case about the MPAA isnt about fines or court awards. Its a massive FUD campaign designed to make users “think twice” about sharing copyrighted materials.
The epic fail comes in 3 parts:
1. The MPAA did more for to advertise Torrents and their use to mainstream than the internet or geeks ever did. lulz
2. The courts and by extension the law making bodies are so technologically ignorant, its nearly impossible for the judges to administer justice. How can justice be served if everyone involved is alot like Ted Stevens in the techo arena.. *very sad face*
3. In America, money = right. *angry*
Not to kick TorrentSpy when they’re down, but here is an abject lesson on why you NEVER HOST A BLOG, FORUM, TRACKER, ETC. ON A SERVER WITHIN THE US. Always host overseas so you can tell the MPAA to go f*ck themselves.
Even news sites like TorrentFreak (hosted in Chicago) should avoid US-based servers. Not to mention W*rdPress.
[quote comment="378897"]Fuck you MPAA Communists.[/quote]
It’s called “capitalists”.
Money talks!
Do I smell corruption?
Just a little too much leaning in their favor.
The US is mostly one sided when it comes to this and we will continue to see this. I am glad other countries are not so quick to jump on the bandwagon.
It will be a cold day in hell before I ever spend any hard earned money on the crap they produce.
F$CK the MPAA/RIAA and all they represent.
A bunch of horses as*es spewing nothing but bulls&it!!
[quote comment="378908"]“The claims made by Andrew Norton, head of the US Pirate Party, don’t stand up to any sort of scrutiny. Anyone that has watched this case knows the judge - Florence-Marie Cooper - is FEMALE AND THEREFORE NOT A HE.”[/quote]
Thats my bad actually, I wrote the quote down, and mis-typed my own handwriting (and if you had ever seen my handwriting, you’d know how bad it was). Quote fixed.
Did the judge raise her pinky to the corner of her mouth when she came up with a number?
This is a big loss for the battle of free information.
110M… did they ever got to make that much money 0.0
Its sad… a win for the Mafiaa, even though hopefully they will never see a dime.
The worse part is, they actually see this as a big win, not as another nail in their coffin because no matter how many sites go down, or if they even managed to shut down every torrent site on the planet, the millions of users who have gotten the wonderful taste of free sharing are just going to either use their brains to build better encrypted networks or will use new networks that others have built… it cannot be stopped without bringing down the net but these feking dinosaurs just dont see it.
Torrenting might be the most popular right now and the fastest growing but as history (Napster 0.1, kazaa) has shown us, its just a passing thing and the next big file sharing app is on its way… and the next .. and the next etc
Even if the Mafiaa find Aladdin and convince his genie to make torrenting disappear, they will be running out of wishes before stopping all filesharing networks… including the oldest… IRC.
http://www.ezee.se/
This is a taste of what happen when money people try to put appart companies made for the people, now is the time for us, support is what those conpanies like TorrentSpy need, all we can do is support them…
Shocked…………
This is great news!! I hope they do the same to all torrent sites and hopefully they start going after all you fucking thieves
[quote comment="378934"]Not to kick TorrentSpy when they’re down, but here is an abject lesson on why you NEVER HOST A BLOG, FORUM, TRACKER, ETC. ON A SERVER WITHIN THE US. Always host overseas so you can tell the MPAA to go f*ck themselves.
…[/quote]
As idealistic as it might sound I believe it’s impolitical to give up too much ground even though the US is a difficult territory. In extreme cases this is called anticipatory obedience which is an easy win for the adversary. That’s what the FUD tactics is implemented for.
No one else can change the US legal system or the public perception of filesharing there. The US citizens have to do that. Specially because a lot of popular culture that’s shared online is sold by US companies. If the MAFIAA is allowed to portray filesharing beeing an irresponsible act from socialistic Sweden or a pirate enterprise from an unknown island in the Caribbean it will be much harder to change public opinion about filesharing in the US.
[quote comment="378982"]This is great news!! I hope they do the same to all torrent sites and hopefully they start going after all you fucking thieves[/quote]
If you want to become a respected troll you’ll have to learn how to be more subtle.
A fair trial in Los Angeles — in the very heart of MPAA/RIAA territory?
Anyone who expected otherwise, then I have some nice land in Florida and a bridge in Brooklyn that I would like to sell to you at a good price.
thats awesome, good chunk of change too, maybe tpb will be next, we can only hope
i guess the sum is kind of symbolic.. they’ll never see a dime of it. they’ll declare bankruptcy and it’ll pretty much be the end of story. donating money directly into mpaa’s pocket insn’t such a good idea right?
i wonder how many generations it takes to pay back that kind of money, if it would be inherited.. that’d be something like 110 generations or like 5000 years..
[quote comment="378997"]thats awesome, good chunk of change too, maybe tpb will be next, we can only hope[/quote]
Sounds like you want it to happen?
Sad
[quote comment="378999"]… such a good idea right?
… like 5000 years.[/quote]
Probably right. We’ll have to see what personal responsability Justin Bunnel has to take.
By that time the rest of us will have landed on the “Planet of the Apes” and rode past the HOLLYWOOD sign buried in the beach.
P.S.
You can skip Planet of the Apes 2, 3, 4 and 5.
God is good,
can’t wait until the pirate bay goes down. theives are evil no matter how they try to justify it. why not go to work for free if you want everything to be free? ungrateful leeches and greedy worthless torrent site owners.
Follow the devil by stealing, and he will suck your soul dry. Good for them.
if i had a site hosted in a dif country and lived outside of the us id laugh in their face and tell them to fuck right off
Either they have that kind of money from their business or they don’t. If they do then they can repay it. If not, then they can’t pay. Either way I think they’ll be looking for a new line of business, or move overseas.
Why not $110 trillion? Makes as much sense. I couldn’t pay $1,000 haha
[quote comment="379028"]God is good,
can’t wait until the pirate bay goes down. theives are evil no matter how they try to justify it. why not go to work for free if you want everything to be free? ungrateful leeches and greedy worthless torrent site owners.
Follow the devil by stealing, and he will suck your soul dry. Good for them.[/quote]
Oh. Another baby troll. Are you lost in this forest and crying for your mama? Give us something to work on.
The “pirate bay goes down”, “theives are evil”, “ungrateful leeches”, “greedy worthless torrent site owners” and so on, we have already dealt with. Browse the torrentfreak archives if you are interested in the answers. There are some good ones.
Damn wonder what site is next - 110 million wow!
The location was in LA, that would classify as an unfair jurisdiction.
Why not New York, not Hollywood head quarters. Seems bias and impartial verdict is influenced by location and people.
Let’s blow up the Hollywood sign…
rip.
The rebellion will happen soon enough. When they start to get onto books and etc try to burn them all the old people from WWII era will remember hitler and vote against lot this shitt. Old people vote emass we need them on our side and soon.
If they don’t live in the us i don’t see how the mpaa could collect a dime.
[quote comment="379059"]The rebellion will happen soon enough. When they start to get onto books and etc try to burn them all the old people from WWII era will remember hitler and vote against lot this shitt. Old people vote emass we need them on our side and soon.[/quote]
Maybe. But it will have to be initiated by those who share files and a future. Old people - most people tend to vote for what they believe seems right. And since old people depend on their retirement plans to be payed out, they probably want the fortune 500 companies to do well. Hitler doesn’t matter here. We have to talk to them and argue what’s on our mind.
And about the books: “Fahrenheit 451″ by Ray Bradbury is a good read. Well, as most of the time the book offers more than the film, but the film by François Truffaut is very good as well. But you probably knew that already.
37 May 08, 2008 at 01:27 by justiceQuote justice
God is good,
could you tell us how you made that determination?
The thing about these huge judgements is they are so ridiculous, that they are essentially meaningless. It’s a judgement on paper only. Had the judgement been for say $100,000, THAT would have been damaging to TS because there actually might be an expectation to pay. But $110 million? It’s a joke, never going to be paid, never going to be expected to be paid.
a job well done MPAA. keep up the good work.
It should be that if you buy a peice of merchandise be it a film, dvd, software or whatever, you should be able to do what ever the hell you want with it. It is unfair that we may buy it but we don’t own it or the uses of it. They have us all by the balls and it is about time that the diamond encrusted tossers that charge massive royalty’s for music and films start realising that they have enough!!!!
don’t buy cd’s or dvd’s
fuck mpaa
o noeZ! piracy r.i.p. oh wait…
These following names have been identified as astroturfers/stupid trolls due to the style they write in: annoyance, dave, Fuck Torrent Sites and justice.
I urge everyone just to ignore them. (Dont feed the trolls!)
be nice if we could see what happens with a non-cali judge
[quote comment="379102"]a job well done MPAA. keep up the good work.[/quote]
Seems like your one of those ignorant and non-techy guys who r struggling to come to terms with the technology these days, just like MPAA ppl. From your comments I wonder if you’ve ever used the internet to its true potential, coz if u had, you’d be in love with filesharing…
[quote comment="379028"]
can’t wait until the pirate bay goes down.[/quote]
Here’s the thing I enjoy about lower primates like you. You’re so incredibly stupid, that sooner or later you’re just going to forget how to breath and drop dead.
It’s like a self-correcting system.
FYI, The Pirate Bay isn’t going down until Sweden gets annexed by the USA. Now, I’m sure you’re clapping your flippers together right now and shouting “DAAH! DAT CULD HAPEN!!! DAAAAAAH!!” like any excitable retard would, but here’s a very special message; that isn’t going to happen. Yeah, I know. Life’s already frustrating, but your Down’s Syndrome must make it frustrating x2. I feel for you, Mongo.
What happened to YouTorrent?????? It sucks now … I cant find anything ,,,, what is this???????
because of this I’m telling 10 of my friends not to go see a movie this blockbuster season. I encourage you to do the same. If we all do this hopefully we can get this up to 110 million.
Why not a billion dollars? Stupid asses.
[quote comment="379028"]God is good,
can’t wait until the pirate bay goes down. theives are evil no matter how they try to justify it. why not go to work for free if you want everything to be free? ungrateful leeches and greedy worthless torrent site owners.
Follow the devil by stealing, and he will suck your soul dry. Good for them.[/quote]
P.S. Only a jerk would quote Scripture to support lawyers. I bet you would have stoned the adulteress too. Keep supporting the Pharisees because the world needs more legalism. Jerk.
[quote comment="379184"]because of this I’m telling 10 of my friends not to go see a movie this blockbuster season. I encourage you to do the same. If we all do this hopefully we can get this up to 110 million.[/quote]
Interesting idea… Maybe with a checkbox and a counter somewhere? One would check the box for every shared movie not watched in a cinema. That could easily amount to $110 Million or even 110 Million movies.
Nice straw man.
I make my donations for MPA/RIAA -mafia and download_share all new movies 24/7/2?? (one or two at time).
That way we hit them where I it hurts most. (some times gotta play B2…)
I suspect a move to suing uploaders will come soon. The reason the MPAA wanted the logs was so they could go after those uploading to TorrentSpy. The reason TorrentSpy did not want to provide the logs is they know the day the uploaders start getting served writs on their doorstep in big numbers is the day piracy starts to becomes unprofitable.
Pirates like TorrentSpy are in it for profit, they don’t want a “free Internet”. If it were all free no one would advertise on their site. They sell advertising and I bet they would sue if you stole that. LOL
Will the MPAA move over to suing uploaders in numbers? Yes and why not. The uploaders will not fight, they will roll over and settle out of court. The cost of going to court is horrendous the cost of losing even worse. Serve the uploader with a court summons and offer him to settle for $10,000 or go to court.
I heard the porn industry is looking at this as a profitable business model. I think they will pay people 5% of what ever they collect for turning in the information. All they need is an IP address. The TorrentSpy owners are broke, the bosses might like 5% of all the money collected.
We already know pornographers are scum bags, so I don’t think they will worry about their image. LOL
Of course the $111 Million is a completely pointless figure. Like anyone at Torrentspy has even 1 million sitting around.
Americans should retire their national anthem, because “Land of the free” has nothing to do with America these days!
[quote comment="378872"]Not too much of a blow. The fine was more for not cooporating with the first court judgement. Unlucky but well done TS for trying to do the best thing for it’s users.[/quote]
Exactly. Torrent Spy took the fall for us..erm. You guys i mean. heh.
“Its sad… a win for the Mafiaa, even though hopefully they will never see a dime.”
You need sites to share the information with and to contact each other. Sue the sites that offer this service to sell advertising space and how are you going to find each other?
Yes it can be done, but a lot harder than it is today. But as I suspect they will move over to suing you. They can find you. Don’t think you can hide on the Net. They find pedos easy enough.
How will you know you’re not sharing with someone who is logging it and giving it to a private detective?
[quote comment="379184"]because of this I’m telling 10 of my friends not to go see a movie this blockbuster season.
I encourage you to do the same. If we all do this hopefully we can get this up to 110 million.[/quote]
You’re telling your ten friends who steal movies and share with 1,000 others not to go to the movies or your ten friends who go to the movies and don’t steal?
Please get real please, if those ten were going to the movies and not stealing the MPAA would not be suing TorrentSpy.
Now do people see why it’s easier to go after the thieves? Most of them have an IQ of a dormouse. LOL
Piracy costs jobs, the people who lose their jobs could be losing their homes. Or did you not think of that?
lol. funny stuff. As if the MPAA will even get $1000.
110 millions? 110 billions? 110 Gillions? Who care!
Once a judgement such as these fall you organization just put the key under the door pack up your servers and restart elsewhere then BK the old opertion. If you are non-profit this is even easier! Just disolve officaly the former organization and restart officlaly a new one at the same place withthe same material.
The MPAA is back to square one.
As far p2p is concerned there is decentralized and anonymous p2p so?
I don’t understand where is the gain for the MPAA.
[quote comment="379254"]lol. funny stuff. As if the MPAA will even get $1000.[/quote]
How much do you think it has cost TorrentSpy so far in the court. Lawyers do not work for free. You can’t pirate them. LOL
What ever is left will be taken in the judgement, and MPAA costs. Including their homes if they have not signed them over to their wives, joke.
This will bankrupt the owners of TorrentSpy and put out of work who ever works for them. Just what pirates have been doing to people in the record industry. Sucks doesn’t it? LOL
Like I said move over to suing the uploaders, they’re not the sharpest tools in the box. LOL
I seriously wonder if TorrentSpy, now faced with losing everything, what their answer will be if the MPAA offer to waive costs for the logs of the uploaders. That would get TS owners out of a fix and be a goldmine for the MPAA.
Anyone here used TorrentSpy, ever?
The MPAA guys can burn in hell :)
When I calculate how much money I would had spent in movies the last 3 years (other $3000) if the MPAA did not followed the RIAA in ther stupid move to try to shutdown the internet It make me happy. Now I can spend at least some of these for buying computer hardware instead.
COOL! thank you MPAA!
You continue the lawsuits I continue the boycott and save tons of money that I can use for soemthing else.
[quote comment="379256"]110 millions? 110 billions? 110 Gillions? Who care!
Once a judgement such as these fall you organization just put the key under the door pack up your servers and restart elsewhere then BK the old opertion. If you are non-profit this is even easier! Just disolve officaly the former organization and restart officlaly a new one at the same place withthe same material.
The MPAA is back to square one.
As far p2p is concerned there is decentralized and anonymous p2p so?
I don’t understand where is the gain for the MPAA.[/quote]
Another dormouse who thinks going to court is free. LOL
Pack up your servers? The servers don’t belong to you, yes pack them up and move to a new address. The police will be waiting for you.
Non profit!!!!!
Seriously do you think TS is a couple of kids in their dorm running a service free of charge? They were in it for the money like all the other file sharing sites. They will be even more concerned about making money in the future. Lawyers cost money. LOL
If you do P2P can the guy you’re sharing with see your IP address. If so how much do you know about him? He might be someone going after 5% of $10,000. LOL
And lastly learn to spell or get a spell checker. You type like a moron, but no need to spell like one as well. LOL
[quote comment="379263"]The MPAA guys can burn in hell :)[/quote]
Seriously why?
They are suing people who are putting their workers out of business. It really is that simple. Piracy costs jobs, lost jobs means lost homes, cars, education and a lot more.
So why should MPAA burn in hell for trying to protect their business?
[quote]You continue the lawsuits I continue the boycott and save tons of money that I can use for soemthing else.[/quote]
The record industry is losing money due to piracy. Do you seriously think you and all the other pirates boycotting spending on music and films will stop them?
Dormice unite.
Seriously you guys seem to think piracy is right. It’s wrong, legally and morally. You steal because you think you can get away with it. If you were scared of getting court you would not steal. Either on the street or on the Internet. Theft is theft, if you steal someones job it effects them and their family.
Do you care while you listen to free music, watch a free movie or pay a free game that someone might be sitting at home looking for a new job because of what you did?
Or don’t you like to think about that? What if it were you who was made redundant because someone was stealing what you produce?
“If you do P2P can the guy you’re sharing with see your IP address. If so how much do you know about him? He might be someone going after 5% of $10,000. LOL”
Another RIAA troll who think that I am afraid of the RIAA/MPAA!
Bohoooooooo! Run away like the coward bully you are and told you friend to run away too before we come for them eventaully.
You are such a retard and you have to get out of your hole because there is now at least a dozen p2p application who are decentralized, encrypted and anonymous. But of course like your employers dinosaurs at the MPAA and RIAA you are behind and you don’t know that since you are just a troll for hire with very limited knowledges.
“And lastly learn to spell or get a spell checker. You type like a moron, but no need to spell like one as well. LOL”
Concerning the spell checcckkkkkeu you can take your dictionary and fuck yourself with it. (I told you this before remember?)
Is it good english or what? (I said this before too!)
ungrateful people who are bored and unhappy with their lives sit up all day and download illegal torrents.
They are not creators and probably do not work for themselves which is why they support piracy.
Most of these sorry people are drowned in debt because they want for everything.
All of the torrent sites will soon fall, as the owners are arrogant deceptive theives. Hiding in fear? Come out, come out, wherever you are. Mark My word. Judgement is here.
pirate bay is next!
Thank you TorrentSpy for taking a stand. F*ck all you pu$$y antipirates and your little lobbyists too!
FYI Clinton appointed that judge and Hilary received donations from antipiracy orgs…in 2007 the LAPD received $186,064 in equipment from the MPAA to assist in counterfeit investigations.
“The record industry is losing money due to piracy.”
Nop! But the fact that they are losing money is good news. We don’t need parasites in this contry.
“Do you seriously think you and all the other pirates boycotting spending on music and films will stop them?”
Yes I do!
You see we no longer need them because we can distribute our recording ourselves and our fan can pay us directly. They already do!
One way or another your bosses are dying, dying, and dying and this is what parasites deserve Death!
“So why should MPAA burn in hell for trying to protect their business?”
You call this a business?
I call this a racketing operation.
The MPAA represent the same companies that think the extrotion is a good business practice.
Fortunatly they are aready begin to burn in hell. Do you smell it? If not have your nose checked.
[/quote]They are suing people who are putting their workers out of business. It really is that simple. Piracy costs jobs, lost jobs means lost homes, cars, education and a lot more.[/quote]
Jobs are being lost in the industry because the boards of directors refuse to eat the cost themselves. They get to keep their yachts and you get fired. Don’t blame pirates.
[/quote]The record industry is losing money due to piracy. Do you seriously think you and all the other pirates boycotting spending on music and films will stop them?[/quote]
Yes, because the consumer drives the market. The MPAA and RIAA should be trying to better the selection and quality art instead of controlling the market. Wait till open source on cellphones and 100 million Indians are stealing your movies on untraceable GoPhones. Rot in Hell Dormice.
Boycott holywood crap
When they don’t have money anymore, no more suits
And I shit on the judge :D
[quote comment="379286"]“If you do P2P can the guy you’re sharing with see your IP address. If so how much do you know about him? He might be someone going after 5% of $10,000. LOL”
Another RIAA troll who think that I am afraid of the RIAA/MPAA!
Bohoooooooo! Run away like the coward bully you are and told you friend to run away too before we come for them eventaully.
You are such a retard and you have to get out of your hole because there is now at least a dozen p2p application who are decentralized, encrypted and anonymous. But of course like your employers dinosaurs at the MPAA and RIAA you are behind and you don’t know that since you are just a troll for hire with very limited knowledges.
[/quote]
So it won’t work that easy. But don’t worry they will find you and come after you. Why?
Because as you point out they like having yachts. And you are money. LOL
As for the rest of the shit you posted, God are you 12 years old. They will distribute records themselves and cut out the middle man. Yes that will work. They will record in their Mum’s garage or their Dad’s computer. And as for films, how do you suggest they make them, with their uncles camera?
You are the parasites living off the people who do buy. Get it straight the last thing you want it to take down the industry you suck off for free.
Take down an industry paid for by others and there’s nothing for you to parasite off of. And yes you’re right the directors do not lose their jobs. People like me down the ladder lose their jobs. Or should I say LOST MY JOB.
YES YOU FUCKING MORON, I WAS LAID OFF DUE TO FALLING RECORD SALES DUE TO PIRACY.
Do you want to talk about bullies, come and meet me and I will teach you what a bully you are and teach you a lesson.
And please don’t tell us that if we produce a better product you will buy it. You will steal what ever you want until a guy turns up on your doorstep with a summons. Then you will see how clever you are.
You’re so twisted in your beliefs it’s a joke. The racket is people like TorrentSpy running a business based on theft. That’s a racket.
No we don’t need parasites, unless we can profit from them. LOL
The people who run the Internet porn industry are programmers and very clever ones. They will find you and they don’t give a shit if you call them names.
And seriously get ieSpell, it’s a great free tool and will make you look bright.
Hooray for ignorant, uninformed, and - dare I say it - corrupt judges.
Oh, btw, if this sets a legal precedent then I’m pretty sure that’s the end of Google. Sorry, guys. The internet is now useless.
[quote]
YES YOU FUCKING MORON, I WAS LAID OFF DUE TO FALLING RECORD SALES DUE .[/quote]
And here ladies & Gentlemen we have the REAL reason…
You were sacked because… wait for it…
YOU WERE CRAP @ your JoB ! Laid off was just a polite way of saying to you that You Sucked at your Job.
L0Lz on YOU Crap ex-employee :) Go Torrent a new job ?
I can LoL too mr Crap Ex-employee !
“YES YOU FUCKING MORON, I WAS LAID OFF DUE TO FALLING RECORD SALES DUE TO PIRACY.”
Care to eloborate on your claims ?
Many of the posters here are fully aware of flaws in your statement and I think its only fair you clarify how you believe copyright infringement was the cause of you losing your job.
Perhaps the truth is you became like the vinyl disk outdated, the CD is heading that way with the “shot-ourselves-in-the-foot” introduction of “legal” downloading but I,m sure you wont be blaming that for a lack of CD sales and they are the only indicator published that shows any decrease in sales, each year the same companies announce record profits how do you square this with any claims of financial desperation ?
boycott american ” ” ” culture ” ” ”
no more problem :D
these people that say piracy cost jobs and stick up for the movie industry need to get a life, well for one it may cost jobs because the amount these greedy companys want from one film, so lets sack, you see it all the time greedy corperate companys sacking while reporting massive profits, but if you want to complain about job losses why not also praise the file sharers for creating jobs, while we arnt being riped off from spending money at the threatres buying dvds we spend it on food or other things we need, so jobs are created else where, and how many IT jobs have been made, if it wasnt for file sharers who would actually want or need broadband and pay for it, world wide i think that would have created millions of jobs, it would have to out number the amount thats been lossed in the movie industry
Geeze the anti-pirates are dumb. Piracy doesn’t cost jobs. China and India cost more jobs to America because of outsourcing! You gonna do something about that you fags. Screw your morals fag.
[quote]YES YOU FUCKING MORON, I WAS LAID OFF DUE TO FALLING RECORD SALES DUE TO PIRACY.[/quote]
Maybe its not because piracy, but because records you produced suck? Never thought that consumers are not mindless animals who will buy any kind of shit?
fucking MaPhiAA cunts. they never learn. in fact when does the next torrentsite file a complaint for biased info, bribing the judge, police and any other person they can bribe, treathening in any way possible, not respecting privacy at all, using hacking techniques and flawed evidence and stuff. when do they file that complaint! prison for life for the maffia!
does someone knows their offices? if so go graffiti them, sic of them
[quote comment="379425"][quote]YES YOU FUCKING MORON, I WAS LAID OFF DUE TO FALLING RECORD SALES DUE TO PIRACY.[/quote]
Maybe its not because piracy, but because records you produced suck? Never thought that consumers are not mindless animals who will buy any kind of shit?[/quote]
The fact of the matter is that the record companies were ripping off artists for years. The value was in the manufacturing, and the record industry failed to respond to the changing market. It still has.
The fact of the matter is that capitalism isn’t perfect. Law is made by those that have the most influence and piracy is wrong. Everyone is in the wrong.
Consumers feel ripped off, record companies feel cheated, the average artist always has been cheated whilst those pop princesses live in the live of luxury and the result is the current situation.
[quote comment="378952"]Did the judge raise her pinky to the corner of her mouth when she came up with a number?[/quote]
ROFL :D
Oh Lordy
How much will Google have to pay in fines? I use it to search for my torrents. How much should I pay a publisher if I show a friend a movie in my home, sharing a “reasonable facsimile” of it — or, how much would I have to pay the studio’s parent company for, say, borrowing one of their books from a library? The entire business model broke the second we installed Napster more than tens years ago. $110M is a joke of Dr Evil scale.
i would kill my self if that happened to me..
[quote comment="379425"][quote]YES YOU FUCKING MORON, I WAS LAID OFF DUE TO FALLING RECORD SALES DUE TO PIRACY.[/quote]
Maybe its not because piracy, but because records you produced suck? Never thought that consumers are not mindless animals who will buy any kind of shit?[/quote]
The business model is broken, out of date and mode, and people are surprised revenue dissolves? Are you joking?
This is the same industry that told us to treat music as “disposable” for the past twenty years.
These are the same labels, publishers, distributors that told us to pay $24 for two “hit songs” they conditioned us to like through propagandistic radio-play.
The industry model is only 80 years old or so. Prior, you would have made money selling the right to your sheet music and performing. Selling records is not a Biblical right. You should have adapted ten years ago and have no one to blame but your bosses (who I’ve said this to for ten years, watching their margins shrink and employees get laid off).
There are dozens of ways to make a living from your intellectual property, music and film especially.
Insanity is repeating the same mistake and expecting a different outcome.
Change or continue a poor man’s death.
SERVES THEM RIGHT!
“F$CK the MPAA/RIAA and all they represent.
A bunch of horses as*es spewing nothing but bulls&it!!”
wot a quote…..lets just laugh in the face of these corporate fatcats cos we all no there no way to stop illegal file sharing!!
the ridiculous fing is that i only download material that i would never consider buying so how is that costing them money? ‘but hey if its free then why not’ is my attitude and that prob the same for millions of other torrenters. Personally i believe this leads to more sales……..Anyway,as said….F*CK MPAA and all they represent!!!
Nuffin but respect to ev1 on the torrent scene!!
Hmm time to download more, gotta make up for lost downloads!
Imagine if they would have kept sweeping us under the rug, they would have so much more money right now because it would have never got into the spotlight.
Keep digging your grave MPAA.
[quote comment="378940"][quote comment="378897"]Fuck you MPAA Communists.[/quote]
It’s called “capitalists”.[/quote]
Its Communist all the way. REAL CAPITALISTS MAKE MONEY THE INNOVATIVE WAY, Like TorrentSpy, the traffic hogs. MPAA is Commie, because they are using the backing of a community and gov’t structures to force their ideals down your throat and slow the evolution of a REAL market. Its all supply and demand for torrentspy who capitalized on the music industries epic failures by old-ass rich & dumb executives. MPAA is just a community support org, or therapists for said slow-rich guys club to are to greedy to adapt to the reality of constant change. Look at iTunes, raping the music industry more than anyone. Thats called adapting to a market too bad the “labels” never caught on.
“And I shit on the judge :D”
And me I pee on her desk and slap her in the face.
“YES YOU FUCKING MORON, I WAS LAID OFF DUE TO FALLING RECORD SALES DUE TO PIRACY.”
Good! You see we don’t need parasites like you in this country. Go and get yourself a real job that trully benefit the society instead of sucking off the blood of artists and public alike!
Next we will show up with the pest killer to clean or societies off parasites like you! Or your friend might end up with their head on a pic!
“Do you want to talk about bullies, come and meet me and I will teach you what a bully you are and teach you a lesson.”
Ok!
Tell me where you live and we can settle this.
“Its Communist all the way”
Agree!
Capitaslism is serving the customer as best as you can and make a profit as a result.
Those who fail in capitalism such as the seven major entertainement companies also shameful members of the RIAA/MPAA, think the they have the right to change the rule just for themselves!
For them the world is collapsing and I will laught my head off once they are all buried under the ruin of their doing!
The MPAA can suck my balls!
Please disregard what I said earlier. I actually suck alot of cocks
ahhhh… i see “Suepirates” has no comments on the l0ss of his “J0B”
WB to the flame war. BTW we’re all still L0L’in @ you.
Are you aware of something called “dinosaurs” ? They died because the couldn’t adapt either…
[quote comment="379654"]WB to the flame war. BTW we’re all still L0L’in @ you./quote]glad to be back. I just discovered myself, and now I’m beating off 2 cocks with my hands.
I LOVE DICKS!!!!
LONG LIVE TORRENT SPY!! f#@K MPAA and Dan Glickman’s mother licked my dick yesterday…
[quote comment="379327"]
YES YOU FUCKING MORON, I WAS LAID OFF DUE TO FALLING RECORD SALES DUE TO PIRACY.[/quote]
In think you’re a little confused, dear. You weren’t laid off of the MAFIAA’s payroll - you’re currently working on their payroll as a hired sockpuppet-slash-cocksucker.
[quote comment="379327"]
And seriously get ieSpell, it’s a great free tool and will make you look bright.[/quote]
Aaww… I’m sorry to break this to you, Shortbus, but despite the impeccible spelling, you do infact look like a gurgling retard. So let this be a lessons to all the kids out there; spellchecking can’t disguise that you’re posting from Special Ed. class.
BTW, I’m “borrowing” your name for awhile. I think you won’t mind.
they will never top us from downloading !!!!
I would like to say thanks to Justin for the site and what he did to protect our privacy, the best of British luck goes out to Justin I hope he can sort his problems.
http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/994/nvidia-boss-on-pc-piracy-it-sucks—better-authentication-needed
well nvidia supports this also, so tthat means this shit will never end.
“11 May 07, 2008 at 22:21 by GoldfingerQuote Goldfinger
Fuck you MPAA Communists.”
wasn´t torrent systems elogiated by countries like venezuela, torrents and the free media is like comunism lol
you should say capitalism ^^
Completely political decision by the courts - showing big business runs the country.
They have major polluters that cause cancer in millions of people around the world each year that very very rarely ever get settlements against them anywhere close to this.
It’s a damn shame when someone copies some DVDs and CDs gets fined more than corporations that murder! I’m glad I am not an American today!
What a bunch of crap, if they think they’re going to stick TorrentSpys’ head on a stick and intimidate everyone with this “relentless litigation” bullshit they’re wrong. It’s a war of attrition and all they’re doing is wasting money, file sharing is the future, everyone already has the power to share files, all torrent sites do is make it easier.
We should all donate money to TorrentSpy and pay off the fine if the appeal doesn’t go through successfully. But let’s make sure to do it after they declare bankruptcy, that way the MPAA gets as little money as possible and TorrentSpy lives on.
Fuck our half assed capitalist government that allows shitty companies like MPAA to operate. “Our mission is to stop illegal activities like pirating a $15 movie, but in the process using illegal means to do so” fucking hypocrites. I am just waiting and hoping one day, they get a taste of their own medicine. Oh, and I LOVE this quote “pirate sites will not be allowed to continue to operate without facing relentless litigation by copyright holders.”
Yet it took these fuck heads TWO YEARS for a prosecution, ONE down EIGHTEEN MILLION to go, good luck!
Fuck you MPAA Think about the people who can’t buy DVDs ?? So let them download them fucking tight gets !!!
Carefull when we criticize the demo/capo sys. What would you chose instead that wouldn’t erode the value of your creativity?
Dear all,
I see people speak in here like the big movie corporations are going into dept or smth. Is this really the case? How come that the most shared movies are the ones on the top of the blogbusters list? Could it be that torrent sites work as a good advertishment too? hmmm?
And what about TV series? Let me tell you this; I am Greek living in Greece and I can tell you that greek Tv channels would never buy american TV series, as expencive as they did, if their popularity was not teste on the internet before hand.
And what about all the equipment we use for burning etc? Don’t some of the same companies that are so strict about copyrighing also produce the blank cds/dvds, the burnes, or the divx dvd players?
Hmm, again it sounds like they are making lot of money from that too…
IMO, these companies should stop lawsuiting and follow the trend. If torrent spy can make up to 110000000$, why they dont start sharing their movies online, charge smth like s cents, for a medium quality?
Could it be that they actually don’t loose so much money, but they instead want to suck dry every last penny out of us?
A.
classic answers - all the thieves trying to justify why they steal moveis, music, porn. sad bunch
*repost in the right place :)*
There needs to be a follow up that explains everything properly.
The judgement is not what this article says it is, it has to do with how Torrentspy failed to follow court orders as they tried to protect its users information and NOTHING about copyright infringement or the legality of the site.. ;)
The judgement cannot be used for other cases as it has nothing to do with copyright infringement etc.
“This substantial money judgment sends a strong message about the illegality of sites. The demise of TorrentSpy is a clear victory for the studios and demonstrates that such pirate sites will not be allowed to continue to operate without facing relentless litigation by copyright holders.”
That comment and others made by RIAA constantly right now are nullified as the judgement had nothing to do with any of it.
Again typical RIAA behavior claiming wins they have not won yet, the only win they got was bankrupting Torrentspy.
To round it up: Nothing has changed except we now know it hurts bigtime not doing as the court wants..
Didnt have time to read >all< comments if anyone else pointed out this kinda huge flaw in the story.. ;p
You people are all fucked. $110 Million is a pretty low fine considering the street value for all of the information passed from user to user is much higher than that.
This is a big blow to the torrents and I am sure it will continue. But p2p will evolve like it always has. so all you kids who are reading this crap and think its the end of the world and are thinking about going emo and slitting your wrists…wait it out a few months because either nothing will change or a new p2p network/system will arise.
[quote comment="380129"]*repost in the right place :)*
There needs to be a follow up that explains everything properly.
The judgement is not what this article says it is, it has to do with how Torrentspy failed to follow court orders as they tried to protect its users information and NOTHING about copyright infringement or the legality of the site.. ;)
The judgement cannot be used for other cases as it has nothing to do with copyright infringement etc.
“This substantial money judgment sends a strong message about the illegality of sites. The demise of TorrentSpy is a clear victory for the studios and demonstrates that such pirate sites will not be allowed to continue to operate without facing relentless litigation by copyright holders.”
That comment and others made by RIAA constantly right now are nullified as the judgement had nothing to do with any of it.
Again typical RIAA behavior claiming wins they have not won yet, the only win they got was bankrupting Torrentspy.
To round it up: Nothing has changed except we now know it hurts bigtime not doing as the court wants..
Didnt have time to read >all< comments if anyone else pointed out this kinda huge flaw in the story.. ;p[/quote]
Have you actually read the judgement? Page 1, line 26 says its a final judgement on the claims of the plaintiff.
Page 2 line 4 shows how the $110.97M was broken down, referencing copyright law. Order 2 (starting page 2 line 19) states that any representative of the company is perminantly prevented from engaging in any copyright infringement.
Seems like a pretty damned solid case of ruling on the site, exactly as the article says, and not what you thought.
Where did you get this mistaken idea?
@Ben Jones
“Order 2 (starting page 2 line 19) states that any representative of the company is perminantly prevented from engaging in any copyright infringement.”
Isn’t that the law already for everybody?
It’s a bullshit law anyway.
[quote comment="380331"]@Ben Jones
“Order 2 (starting page 2 line 19) states that any representative of the company is perminantly prevented from engaging in any copyright infringement.”
Isn’t that the law already for everybody?
It’s a bullshit law anyway.[/quote]
ok 1) Its a judgement, not a law
2) This was a civil case, whilst breaching a court order is contempt of court, and doesn’t require a copyright case to be brought by a rights owner. instead, a notification to the court that it’s order has been violated. IIRC, you can go to jail for contempt.
I am not a lawyer, however, so my interpritaton in 2 might be a bit off, but that’s my understand of the law as it applied.
Ben
I used to loved that site but it’s been on a slope for about a year or two. Guess i know why.
Long Live Free Internet
[quote comment="380291"]
Where did you get this mistaken idea?[/quote]
Their lawyer Ira Rothken: “The ruling was because Torrent Spy refused to reveal the identities of website users and the matter of whether the website infringed copyrights was never resolved in court.”
I did go around the “never trust a lawyer” rule though.. :)
The music industry cartel plays their songs for free on tour TVs and radios, in our cars, and in the shops on a 24 hour basis until you can’t get it out of your head and then they sue for millions those who choose not to buy them. They are crooks. An mp3 is worth nothing, it can be reproduced at zero cost at no loss to the record industry cartel and if I was TorrentSpy I would not pay the money grubbing zionist criminals the shit off my shoe.
I actually feel very sorry for that Justin Bloke. He must have made some decent dosh while the site was working but $110mil is definitely more than he could ever get in his life.
He’ll probably spend the rest of his life in debtors prison.
Instead of mourning the site i suggest we all take a minutes silence for the brave soul who took on the man .
holy shit dude. 110m! dude if i worked at the mpaa HQ i would so pee in the coffee.
death to MPAA
To the individual who mentioned Mininova…it actually pre-dates Torrentspy by quite a bit.
I first visited mininova back in late 2004 ;). I first used bittorrent on scarywater in 2003…
early adopter here.
About the $110,000,000 fine. There is no way that Torrentspy ever made even a tenth that just from advertising. I know what the advertising revinue is for some big (albeit not as big as Torrentspy) torrent sites, and even extrapolating up to the traffic level TS would have had, it comes in at less than one million gross revenue (not counting expenses) for a site that was around for only two years.
we should`ve all had alias`s like mr.x sent mr. y something or a peice of something at such and such a time and place but keep peoples isp addresses private or incrypted that would out rule any argument they the copyright holder or artist might have about such a thing as info if it`s incrypted the company could say it was sensitive trade secrets of their business they can`t disclose to any party or member of said party
What the flying fuck? If somebody scratches my car, I can only sue them for the amount it costs to repair it. Why is the MPAA allowed to charge 1000x the amount of damages? Why are they allowed to exploit, extort, and ABUSE the justice system like this?
They’re organized crime at its finest. Al Capone would be proud.
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