Online

Websites Fined for Links to Pirated Movies

By: Sherri L. Shaulis

Posted: 05/23/2008

LOS ANGELES - A federal judge has ordered ShowStash.com to pay $2.7 million in damages to members of the Motion Picture Association of America for posting links to pirated films on third-party sites.

 

The order this week came after a similar $1.3 million judgment issued May 7 against CinemaTube.net. The sites were also ordered to not engage in other activities that would infringe on studios' copyrights.

 

The MPAA sued the studios last year, claiming they were offerings links to sites hosting downloads of hundreds of movies and TV shows.

 

"Our goal is to stop this kind of blatant and illegal activity," said John G. Malcolm, executive vice president and director of worldwide anti-piracy for the MPAA. "These judgments indicate that the studios will not hesitate to vigorously pursue litigation against this type of site."

 

The MPAA announced the two judgments just two weeks after the organization was awarded $110 million in damages from TorrentSpy. The MPAA hailed the decision as a clear victory that served as the icing on the cake after TorrentSpy's announcement that it would shut down for good on March 24.