Hotfile agrees to pay $80 million to settle MPAA copyright case

[Himanshu Arora]

File-sharing website Hotfile agreed on Tuesday to pay $80 million to settle its copyright infringement case with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The website also agreed to cease operations until it effectively implements "digital fingerprinting" -- a copyright filtering technology -- to prevent infringement.

Hotfile, operated by Florida resident Anton Titov, is a popular cyberlocker that allows its users to store and swap files. The website became one of the 100 most trafficked websites in the world in less than two years.

The judgment passed by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida comes after the court in August 2013 refused to accept Hotfile's eligibility for DMCA "Safe Harbor" and held the website (and its "principal" Titov) liable for copyright infringement.

This is a big win for the MPAA as it is the first time a cyberlocker website has been held liable and fined for copyright violations done by its users. “This judgment by the court is another important step toward protecting an Internet that works for everyone,” MPAA's CEO and Chairman Chris Dodd said in an official statement.

This victory for MPAA comes barely a few weeks after the association won a legal battle against BitTorrent search engine IsoHunt, following which the website was shut down in October.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/54897-hotfile-agrees-to-pay-80-million-to-settle-mpaa-copyright-case.html

 

[NTAPRO]

I wonder who exactly the money goes to and what it's used for

 

[tonylukac]

Of course, hollywood just lost $200 million on the death of that actor Paul due to the fast and furious movie which starred him and has to be refilmed.. Net $120 million loss.

 

[wastedkill]

The MPAA should use that money to develop the Anti copyright system themselves the lazy Gits! They sue and get a big payday they dont do anything except walk away with their wallets full they should be sued and banned from sueing and doing anything copyright related until they get their act together!

If the MPAA actually did develop a anti copyright system that all file sites can use THAT will be the first thing the MPAA has actually done that is beneficial to the anti-copyright system...

Maybe I should get a loan to start a business where I sue companies like the MPAA that sue others for stuff they dont understand and walk away with their wallets full.
So I can actually say force the MPAA to stop doing anything copyright related until they start providing a way for sites like hotfile to find copyrighted material and until they actually do that they cant sue a single person otherwise I will sue them again then ask for a permanent ban for terrible business practices and bullying companies to give them money for things they should be helping prevent like copyright.

 

[tipstir]

Just give it to charity.

 

[BMfan]

"This judgment by the court is another important step toward protecting an Internet that works for everyone," MPAA's CEO and Chairman Chris Dodd said
Does he realize that his statement is *****ic since he is also screwing some people that use the internet?