Judge hands out $450,000 in fines and orders file-sharing sites closed in Expendables 3 piracy case

[midian182]

While the Expendables 3 isn’t exactly an Oscar winning masterpiece, or even the best movie in the series, it did gain widespread fame for the huge number of times it was downloaded after a near-perfect copy appeared online one month before its August 2014 release date.

Several people linked with leaking the movie were eventually arrested, and studio Lionsgate filed lawsuits against a number of file-sharing sites after they failed to respond to takedown requests. As Torrent Freak reports, a federal court in California has now ordered the operators of three of these sites to pay $150,000 each for copyright infringement offenses.

The alleged operators of the sites, who failed to appear in court, were ordered to pay the maximum statutory amount that can be awarded in these type of cases. The Judge said the high figure was appropriate because the studio likely suffered a substantial loss as a result of the leak.

“In light of the fact that the film garnered over $575 million dollars in worldwide box office revenues, the ‘value of the copyright’ strongly favors a high award of statutory damages,” Judge Wright noted. “Defendants hosted the anticipated film available online prior to its theatrical release for the purpose of enabling users to illegally download it, which more than likely diminished Plaintiff’s revenue substantially,” he added.

In addition to the fines, the judge issued a permanent injunction against Muhammed Ashraf (LimeTorrents), Tom Messchendorp (Dotsemper), and Lucas Lim (Swankshare), forbidding them from operating their sites and any other websites where the Expendables 3 is made available.

Just how much effect this judgment has remains to be seen. Dotsemper and Swankshare previously shut down, and their operators, who live outside the US, haven’t responded to the ruling.

The LimeTorrents operator, Muhammed Ashraf, seems equally unlikely to comply with the judge’s orders. “We want to keep the site up and running, and we don’t care about default judgment because we don’t have any faith in the United States,” he told Torrent Freak. "We already took action and blocked their keyword, so we don’t have a penny to pay them for their own leak problem."

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/64255-judge-hands-out-450000-fines-orders-file-sharing.html

 

[VitalyT]

If Rambo settles this by going to lawyers instead of doing the old-school way, then he is no good, and we all have been deceived. So much for the role model.

 

[hahahanoobs]

"We already took action and blocked their keyword, so we don’t have a penny to pay them for their own leak problem."

^THIS!

 

[SirGCal]

So... August -> April... It took 8 months for anything to happen? Who even cares at this point? You know darned well the pirates won't pay a cent anyhow. The judge is a ***** if he thinks his boycots or judgement will do anything at all.

 

[Evernessince]

"We already took action and blocked their keyword, so we don’t have a penny to pay them for their own leak problem."

^THIS!

This is what I'm not getting. These guys took action and still are taking the blame. What exactly do these judges want?

 

[3volv3d]

S#*t film is still a s#*t film. Should be sued for making this crap. And star wars. #rehash #hashed #andagainrehashed #cashed cashed and recashed.

Fat cats should just stop the leaks. And people downloading cams should be caught and laughed at for being that sad to watch low quality films in low quality. HD is where it is at. And £20 per IMAX ticket for s#*t in 3d. Just wait for the £50 a ticket smellavision cinemas. The trick is it doesn't come from the movie tho it would Smell the same, it's just your own poops piped in from the toilets. Ahhh scam.

It's all a scam. This world is a joke. And jokes on you. Don't pay.

 

[OgnDulk]

It seems odd that these judgements were issued for sites I never heard of. maybe they were so small they couldn't afford adequate legal representation.
I am only a subscriber and not connected in any way to the service I highly recommend to protect your privacy if you do download torrents: filestream.me

 

[Squid Surprise]

I find it curious that the judge cited the film's high gross (575 million) as a reason to make the damages so high... I'd argue, if I were the defendant, that the high gross means that piracy had no effect whatsoever....

 

[tahir19833]

"We already took action and blocked their keyword, so we don’t have a penny to pay them for their own leak problem."

^THIS!

Ikr. I was like God damn! when I read that. That guy has sum huge nuts

 

[hahahanoobs]

Ikr. I was like God damn! when I read that. That guy has sum huge nuts

The size of coconuts.

But I posted that last line because of the end. People rarely talk about how things get on torrent sites before they are officially released. I can't think of any specific story I read where the employer was cracking down on stuff getting out. I'm sure they have something, but there is always a way which has been proven time and time again.

 

[Uncle Al]

Word is that the term "action figure" now means just being able to get a pulse out of the aforementioned actor, so Rambo might have a few more years ..... can't say the same about his movies!

 

[Pat McGroyne]

Torrents are for the uninformed, unimaginative, and just plain n00bs. There are plenty of other options if you want to download something for "evaluation purposes". I would never pay eight or ten bucks to see this movie in a theater full of chatty, cellphone-addicted punks, anyway.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Torrents are for the uninformed, unimaginative, and just plain n00bs. There are plenty of other options if you want to download something for "evaluation purposes". I would never pay eight or ten bucks to see this movie in a theater full of chatty, cellphone-addicted punks, anyway.

Public ones anyways... private torrent sites are great - less risky than IRC, even if you do get stuff a bit quicker from there...

 

[Raoul Duke]

Torrents are for the uninformed, unimaginative, and just plain n00bs. There are plenty of other options if you want to download something for "evaluation purposes". I would never pay eight or ten bucks to see this movie in a theater full of chatty, cellphone-addicted punks, anyway.

Public ones anyways... private torrent sites are great - less risky than IRC, even if you do get stuff a bit quicker from there...

torrents, IRC, WTF....Usenet rules

 

[Raoul Duke]

Torrents are for the uninformed, unimaginative, and just plain n00bs. There are plenty of other options if you want to download something for "evaluation purposes". I would never pay eight or ten bucks to see this movie in a theater full of chatty, cellphone-addicted punks, anyway.

Public ones anyways... private torrent sites are great - less risky than IRC, even if you do get stuff a bit quicker from there...

torrents, IRC, WTF....Usenet rules

that's what someone I met said anyway

 

[lripplinger]

As I was reading this article, I just knew before finishing that the operators of the "offending share sites" were basically going to tell the U.S. judge to go stick it where the sun don't shine anyway...LOL. If the sites are in foreign countries, what can the ***** judge possibly do about it.

 

[Squid Surprise]

torrents, IRC, WTF....Usenet rules

Hello 1996, your download is calling you

 

[anguis]

“In light of the fact that the film garnered over $575 million dollars in worldwide box office revenues, the ‘value of the copyright’ strongly favors a high award of statutory damages,” Judge Wright noted. “Defendants hosted the anticipated film available online prior to its theatrical release for the purpose of enabling users to illegally download it, which more than likely diminished Plaintiff’s revenue substantially,” he added.

Some sound logic, if I ever saw some. Who gave this guy a law degree? I thought logic was supposed to be an integral part of practicing law? "More than likely" shouldn't be a phrase used in any ruling. I pity anyone who has to deal with that joke of a judge.

 

[Ziffel]

S#*t film is still a s#*t film. Should be sued for making this crap.

$575M.

I'd make and shovel **** all day long for that kind of money.

 

[noc81]

torrents, IRC, WTF....Usenet rules

Who pays for an illegal download, which is already released freely..? That's as much of a joke as buying crappy fakes at flea markets.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Who pays for an illegal download, which is already released freely..? That's as much of a joke as buying crappy fakes at flea markets.

You do know you don't have to pay for that stuff, right?

 

[noc81]

You do know you don't have to pay for that stuff, right?

Well, I haven't touched Usenet since the 90s, so I may not be the best source of info, but it was my understanding that practically everyone has to pay for access to a (decent) Usenet server, as most ISPs no longer bother running them (my last one didn't, never checked with TWC). My modern knowledge is pretty much limited to a discussion I had with a friend awhile back who was insisting paying for UseNext was the way to go. I just surmised that Usenet was dead outside of those who want to make money off of it, and the millions who use it to get controversial material like child pornography, and don't care if they get malware infections in the process.

I'd just avoid using Usenet for downloadable content for the same reasons I stopped using warez sites and irc -- it's like going to an orgy and forgetting to pick up a box of condoms. You may find all sorts of amazing things and experiences, but your luck will run out eventually. Torrents are hardly infallible, though by their nature it is fairly easy to weed out the more sinister uploads. Not to mention ease of use and redundancy..

 

[captaincranky]

Shouldn't Stallone have that assault rifle lashed to his walker by now?