Hollywood Studios Sue Movie File-Swappers, Launch Anti-Piracy Campaign

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2004 - 5:17am.

Washington -- The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced on Tuesday that it has filed its first wave of copyright infringement lawsuits against alleged Internet movie file-swappers. The suits were filed against an undisclosed number of defendants, who could be liable for up to $30,000 for each movie traded, and up to $150,000 if "willful infringement" is proven. The MPAA did not state whether it would offer settlement deals to accused infringers, as the recording industry has done in its legal campaign. "The future of our industry, and of the hundreds of thousands of jobs it supports, must be protected from this kind of outright theft using all available means," said MPAA CEO Dan Glickman. The MPAA's new campaign also includes anti-piracy trailers and posters that will be displayed in 10,000 video rental stores, through an agreement with the Video Software Dealers Association. The group will also soon offer free software that it says will identify potentially infringing movie and music files on a computer, along with any file-sharing applications, and offer to delete them. The MPAA said this information would only be visible by a user of the program, and "would not be shared with or reported to the MPAA or any other body." The MPAA also cited raids on street vendors in Los Angeles and New York, in addition to actions in five other countries, as well as its backing of movie theater anti-camcording laws in 18 states and the District of Columbia as other examples of its campaign against movie piracy.
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