Facebook user going to prison for uploading bootleg copy of Deadpool

[Cal Jeffrey]

Copyright infringement on Facebook is nothing new. It happens every day in fact. Just scroll through your news feed for a bit, and it won’t take long before you find a copyrighted image or even a video posted without permission. However, these daily violations rarely receive enough attention to warrant any action from the copyright holder or authorities.

That was not the case with a bootlegged copy of the "most pirated film of 2016." Trevon Franklin from Fresno, Califonia posted the movie Deadpool under a fake Facebook account and now faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine after signing a plea bargain.

The pirated film was publically available for viewing between February 20-22, 2016 while the movie was still playing in theaters. Before Facebook removed the post, it went viral having been viewed 6,386,456 times.

According to TorrentFreak, the 22-year-old had downloaded the movie from Putlocker and posted it under the pseudonym Tre-Von M. King. The FBI investigated the bogus account and traced it back to Franklin. He was eventually arrested and indicted last summer.

Last week Franklin signed a plea deal. In a bid to reduce his possible jail time, he will plead guilty to a Class A misdemeanor. Franklin could face up to a year in prison followed by probation, and a fine of up to $100,000.

It is not often that the federal government gets involved in these matters. Usually, things like this are handled with cease and desist orders and takedown notifications. However, the fact that the post went viral and received a lot of media attention probably prompted the feds to take action.

A date for sentencing has not yet been set.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/74792-facebook-user-going-prison-uploading-bootleg-copy-deadpool.html

 

[OutlawCecil]

This is just a classic case of "lets make an example out of him". Deadpool made 363 million dollars. You can't tell me anybody's pockets are empty due to this person posting this online. People obviously paid to see it in theaters and Hollywood made lots of money even on "the most pirated film of 2016".

 

[bexwhitt]

What a maroon

 

[TheBigT42]

Hmmm....

1. I got an idea....lets post this new movie to facebook from my house. It's ok I will use a fake account.

or

2. I got an idea....lets post this new movie to facebook....But I am smart I will do it from a public wifi spot and a fake account...never mind I use that same account from my house all the time.

 

[TomSEA]

This is just a classic case of "lets make an example out of him". Deadpool made 363 million dollars. You can't tell me anybody's pockets are empty due to this person posting this online. People obviously paid to see it in theaters and Hollywood made lots of money even on "the most pirated film of 2016".

I've always hated the "they made plenty of money, so it's OK to steal it" argument.

 

[bexwhitt]

This is just a classic case of "lets make an example out of him". Deadpool made 363 million dollars. You can't tell me anybody's pockets are empty due to this person posting this online. People obviously paid to see it in theatres and Hollywood made lots of money even on "the most pirated film of 2016".

I have no sympathy, most people have downloaded something they haven't paid for from time to time but what he did was dumb, disruptive and probably cost the studio millions of dollars.

 

[havok585]

This is just a classic case of "lets make an example out of him". Deadpool made 363 million dollars. You can't tell me anybody's pockets are empty due to this person posting this online. People obviously paid to see it in theatres and Hollywood made lots of money even on "the most pirated film of 2016".

I have no sympathy, most people have downloaded something they haven't paid for from time to time but what he did was dumb, disruptive and probably cost the studio millions of dollars.

they lost what? prove it they lost something, they never had in the first place.

Until the company can provide proof they lost something (they cant) they never had in the first place, it's all wash talk.

 

[TomSEA]

This is just a classic case of "lets make an example out of him". Deadpool made 363 million dollars. You can't tell me anybody's pockets are empty due to this person posting this online. People obviously paid to see it in theatres and Hollywood made lots of money even on "the most pirated film of 2016".

I have no sympathy, most people have downloaded something they haven't paid for from time to time but what he did was dumb, disruptive and probably cost the studio millions of dollars.

they lost what? prove it they lost something, they never had in the first place.

Until the company can provide proof they lost something (they cant) they never had in the first place, it's all wash talk.

That's just like the simpletons who steal games and their excuse is, "I wasn't going to buy it anyway, so it's OK for me to steal it."

There are copyright laws for a reason guy. I'd love to see you invent/make something, have people steal it off the internet and then say that's OK, "Because there was never a guarantee of future sales and I've already made plenty of money off of it anyway." Yeah, right....

 

[OutlawCecil]

That's just like the simpletons who steal games and their excuse is, "I wasn't going to buy it anyway, so it's OK for me to steal it."

There are copyright laws for a reason guy. I'd love to see you invent/make something, have people steal it off the internet and then say that's OK, "Because there was never a guarantee of future sales and I've already made plenty of money off of it anyway." Yeah, right....

I agree with @havok585. It's like buying a car and leaving it unlocked. If somebody steals it, it's YOUR fault more than it is theirs. If you want to protect it, you don't do it though legal means, you LOCK IT DOWN. If you create something that is easily steal-able (or in this case even better, shareable!), then don't get all butt hurt if people do just that. It should be up to the company that created the thing to protect it from situations like this. THEY should be responsible to pay the money required to keep it safe. Not to mention again, were using the law to go after somebody broke to give money to somebody who just made 363 million dollars and who isn't satisfied. It's a broken system!

This all circles back to the age old issue of sharing too. Why does the FBI not bust down doors when you buy a DVD and take it to a friends house to watch? Your friend STOLE property and you SHARED it to somebody who didn't pay. Arrest them!!!

 

[Darth Shiv]

This is just a classic case of "lets make an example out of him". Deadpool made 363 million dollars. You can't tell me anybody's pockets are empty due to this person posting this online. People obviously paid to see it in theaters and Hollywood made lots of money even on "the most pirated film of 2016".

The age old lesson. If you are going to screw anyone out of money, make sure it's not rich people. Follow the lead of Wells Fargo, Wall Street and screw the small guy.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

This is just a classic case of "lets make an example out of him". Deadpool made 363 million dollars. You can't tell me anybody's pockets are empty due to this person posting this online. People obviously paid to see it in theatres and Hollywood made lots of money even on "the most pirated film of 2016".

I have no sympathy, most people have downloaded something they haven't paid for from time to time but what he did was dumb, disruptive and probably cost the studio millions of dollars.

they lost what? prove it they lost something, they never had in the first place.
Until the company can provide proof they lost something (they cant) they never had in the first place, it's all wash talk.

So if I burn down your business or cause you to lose your job, you can't sue me for lost income because it's all potential future money you never had in the first place?

 

[p51d007]

Geez! At least wait until it's been out on DVD a few months...

 

[treetops]

Funny if you steal a dvd you get a slap on the wrist.

 

[Catweazle]

Funny if you steal a dvd you get a slap on the wrist.

Stealing a DVD does not instantly make it freely available to millions of people.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Funny if you steal a dvd you get a slap on the wrist.

But that is quite different than broadcasting the DVD on big-sceen for the whole world to see. Pretty much the same difference as buying/using vs distributing illegal drugs.

 

[Versutus]

That's just like the simpletons who steal games and their excuse is, "I wasn't going to buy it anyway, so it's OK for me to steal it."

There are copyright laws for a reason guy. I'd love to see you invent/make something, have people steal it off the internet and then say that's OK, "Because there was never a guarantee of future sales and I've already made plenty of money off of it anyway." Yeah, right....

I agree with @havok585. It's like buying a car and leaving it unlocked. If somebody steals it, it's YOUR fault more than it is theirs. If you want to protect it, you don't do it though legal means, you LOCK IT DOWN. If you create something that is easily steal-able (or in this case even better, shareable!), then don't get all butt hurt if people do just that. It should be up to the company that created the thing to protect it from situations like this. THEY should be responsible to pay the money required to keep it safe. Not to mention again, were using the law to go after somebody broke to give money to somebody who just made 363 million dollars and who isn't satisfied. It's a broken system!

This all circles back to the age old issue of sharing too. Why does the FBI not bust down doors when you buy a DVD and take it to a friends house to watch? Your friend STOLE property and you SHARED it to somebody who didn't pay. Arrest them!!!

So you're telling me, if somebody stole your car, you would not go to the police, instead live your life like nothing happened because it was your fault?

 

[Emexrulsier]

So in the first two sentences you contradict yourself

"Facebook user going to prison for uploading bootleg copy of Deadpool
Faces up to one year in prison followed by a year probation and a $100,000 fine"

Going to prison and facing prison and a fine are two totally different things.

 

[fadingfool]

This is just a classic case of "lets make an example out of him". Deadpool made 363 million dollars. You can't tell me anybody's pockets are empty due to this person posting this online. People obviously paid to see it in theatres and Hollywood made lots of money even on "the most pirated film of 2016".

I have no sympathy, most people have downloaded something they haven't paid for from time to time but what he did was dumb, disruptive and probably cost the studio millions of dollars.

they lost what? prove it they lost something, they never had in the first place.
Until the company can provide proof they lost something (they cant) they never had in the first place, it's all wash talk.

So if I burn down your business or cause you to lose your job, you can't sue me for lost income because it's all potential future money you never had in the first place?

You would not be sued for loss of income - you would go to jail for arson. Copyright infringement is not theft in the truest sense of the word (more akin to selling fake Gucci bags than theft) and the actual damage done is very hard to quantify. But without copyright - then the effect on the creative industries could ultimately be a problem (without a different funding model) . So these "halo" cases which always get bigger exposure than the actual crime deserves are all a part of the merry modern dance of corporation controlled crony capitalism.

 

[Dimitrios]

Can someone please explain to me why this movie is so highly rated? I watched it and it was an ok movie but people talk about it like it's the holy grail. Did I miss something? I just don't get it.

 

[slamscaper]

This is ridiculous. I'm not saying what this guy did wasn't wrong, because it was. But you cannot compare piracy to larceny. It's not the same. A lot of you guys are using analogies that do just that.

This sets a precedent. What's next? A person getting arrested because they posted a video of themselves hanging out at home lifting weights or talking with friends, but a Drake song was playing in the background? We really have to be careful how far we let the MPAA and RIAA go when it comes to this, because obviously they have no limit to what they'll do.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

So in the first two sentences you contradict yourself

"Facebook user going to prison for uploading bootleg copy of Deadpool
Faces up to one year in prison followed by a year probation and a $100,000 fine"

Going to prison and facing prison and a fine are two totally different things.

He IS going to prison this is a known. How long he goes in for is up to the judge so we don't know, but we do know that he could be FACING unto one year.

Cheers.

 

[seeprime]

This is just a classic case of "lets make an example out of him". Deadpool made 363 million dollars. You can't tell me anybody's pockets are empty due to this person posting this online. People obviously paid to see it in theatres and Hollywood made lots of money even on "the most pirated film of 2016".

I have no sympathy, most people have downloaded something they haven't paid for from time to time but what he did was dumb, disruptive and probably cost the studio millions of dollars.

they lost what? prove it they lost something, they never had in the first place.

Until the company can provide proof they lost something (they cant) they never had in the first place, it's all wash talk.

The law does not favors consumers in any way, especially with Hollywood donating millions to each parties candidates in order to get laws written that favor them. Congress stopped being for the pubic a long time ago.

 

[OutlawCecil]

So you're telling me, if somebody stole your car, you would not go to the police, instead live your life like nothing happened because it was your fault?

In your example, yes you'd go to the police either way. Why? Because cars are made with locks and safety features designed to protect them. There's billions of dollars that go into safety feature research and development every year. How much per year does Hollywood pay per year to protect their property? $0 because they simply use the legal system to collect their money upon loss.

 

[Forebode]

Stolen data was acquired and then shared. Sounds illegal to me. Why argue how more or less illegal it was. Yes it's less illegal than murder, that's why he may get out with just a fine. As far as protect it so it wont get stolen.. that's silly.. That's why they had a copyright, it's your way of protecting your work, that's the whole point.

But by all means.. start searching people going into theaters.. take way the cellphones too. The problem with this theory is that the theaters aren't, necessarily, part of the movie studio.

Let's throw another silly argument. Shouldn't the punishment be based on how good the bootleg was?

 

[RickRick]

"Going to jail" and "could face..." are totally different things.