QuebecTorrent, the Canadian-based BitTorrent tracker has lost its legal battle against the Canadian recording industry.
Targeted in 2007, they faced the combined resources of the CRIA, ADISQ and APFTQ (the TV and movie companies) – and CIRPA. In all, 31 organizations went after QuebecTorrent, demanding $200,000 in punitive damages.
They ordered that the admin, Sébastien Brûlotte, aka ‘Doditz’, should close the site and never again engage in any similar activity, and post a message clearly indicating the closure of the site. At the time, Doditz didn’t comply. The full details of the case are available in an interview we conducted back in January.
However, the pressure became too great and on July 9th QuebecTorrent was forced to close after it received a permanent injunction from the Superior Court of Quebec. The judgment reads:
ORDER the defendants Sébastien Brûlotte and Quebectorrent.com inc., their officers, administrators, employees, representatives, mandator as well as any person acting directly or indirectly on their behalf or according to their instructions, as well as to any person informed of the present injunction to immediately close the torrents on these website Quebectorrent and to refrain from being involved in any website using the bittorrent technology, peer to peer, or any other technology allowing the download of any work protected by copyright.
QuebecTorrents had indicated all along that they intended to fight the recording industry but in the end, their combined resources proved to be too much. Solange Drouin, the managing director of ADISQ explains:
“We had envisaged three days of lawsuit, but they indicated last week to us that they would comply with the demands. In return, we agreed to drop the claim for $200,000 in damages brought against the site and its administrator.”
Indicating that she hopes the shutdown has an effect on other current and potential torrent site admins he goes on: “We waited to see the result of this first lawsuit. We hope that this result will have a dissuasive effect. If it is not the case, it is possible that we will engage in actions against similar sites.”
Doditz briefly told TorrentFreak: “I just wanna say thanks to all the people who supported the cause and me all along.”
This post will be updated shortly with an exclusive message to the BitTorrent community from Doditz.
Stay tuned.
