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Woman Sued in Internet Movie Piracy Case: Penalty for Films Could Hit $300,000

Posted on: Friday, 9 December 2005, 12:00 CST

By David Washburn, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Dec. 9--An Imperial Beach woman was sued yesterday by the Motion Picture Association of America for allegedly downloading and sharing movies online.

Brenda Pearson downloaded 1994's "The Professional" and 2005's "Constantine," starring Keanu Reeves, and swapped them through an online network, according to the Motion Picture Association.

Pearson, who could not be reached for comment, is among hundreds of people nationwide who have been sued by the motion picture association since last November as part of a campaign to fight movie piracy on the Internet.

"People need to understand that when they are illegally swapping movies online that they are not anonymous," said Kori Bernards, a spokesperson for the motion picture association.

The federal suit, which was filed on behalf of Sony Pictures and Warner Bros., the studios that distributed the films, seeks damages that could run as high as $300,000. Under the Copyright Act, Pearson can be fined up to $30,000 for each film shared over the Internet, and as much as $150,000 per film if the act is proven to be willful, according to the association.

Amazon.com is selling used copies of "The Professional" for as little as $1.29. Used copies of Constantine start at $14.39 on Amazon.

Bernards said the association employs investigators who gather evidence on suspected Internet pirates and then obtain court orders that compel Internet service providers to hand over information on individuals' online activity.

"We try to contact the person to let them know that we know they are stealing movies," Bernards said. "If they deny wrongdoing or don't respond, then we take legal action."

Long the bane of the music industry, Internet piracy has only in recent years become an issue in the movie business. Until broadband Internet access became the norm, it was impossible to transfer a movie online. And even now the process can consume large amounts of time because the files are so large.

This year the industry will lose $5.4 billion to pirates, according to a Smith Barney report cited by the association. In early September, the Bush administration created the first Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement to help fight piracy.

There are a couple of ways new movies get on the Internet. In some cases, advance copies of movies are stolen from the studios and converted into digital files. In others, people sneak digital movie cameras into theaters and then put those files on the Internet.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

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