Several major motion picture production companies scored a new victory in their fight against Internet piracy by obtaining a summary judgment order finding a “bit torrent” search engine operator liable for copyright violation by end users.
The nearly 50-page order reflects the one-side nature of this legal “battle” and references a number of case citations indicative of the string of successes that major music and movie studios have won in the last decade.
The copyright holders hired forensic computer and statistics experts from major universities across the nation to submit affidavits which essentially tutor the court with explanations of how “file sharing” works on the Internet, down to nitty-gritty distinctions between vari0us peer-to-peer protocols.
The Defendant managed to summon at least one expert however it appears he had to concede all of the relevant incriminating principles. Meanwhile, the Defendants’ use of file descriptions (”Top 20 Movies”), accolades for frequent users, and interviews where the operator admits knowledge and purpose of the torrent sites, make this “battle” fairly easy to win for the copyright holders.
The case is Columbia Pictures v. Gary Fung. WIRED Magazine provides an interesting write-up here. The site still exists, for the moment, here.