Guest c4evap Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 NEWS FLASH Seven Star Wars fans have admitted copying Revenge of the Sith a week before its cinema release. They admitted piracy charges after copying and passing a DVD copy of the movie among them last May. The six US men and one woman also pleaded guilty to criminal conduct in allowing an eighth person to obtain the film and upload it onto the internet. They each face a maximum penalty of a $100,000 (£56,000) fine and one year in jail when sentenced on 12 April. Copyright law Prosecutors said 28-year-old Albert Valente took a copy of George Lucas's final Star Wars movie from a post-production facility in Los Angeles last May. It was then passed to Jessie Lumada, 28, Ramon Valdez, 30, Michael Fousse, 42, Dwight Wayne Sityar, 27, Stephani Gima, 25, and Joel De Sagun Dimaano, 33. All seven are from Los Angeles County. Mr Dimaano then passed a copy to work colleague Marc Hoaglin, 28, from Huntington Beach, who last month admitted putting a copy on the internet. New US laws make uploading a film before its DVD release a federal crime. Mr Hoaglin is due to be sentenced in March. Hollywood studios said movie piracy cost the film industry $3.5bn (£1.95bn) per year. "We are glad to see the Star Wars thieves brought to justice," the Motion Picture Association of America said in a statement. "Stealing copyrights is a serious problem, and the theft and illegal distribution of Revenge of the Sith was a glaring example of how the actions of dishonest people can cheat the movie-watching experience." Revenge of the Sith went on to take $848.5m (£474.6m) at the global box office. $100,000.00 for a fine! Would that make anyone here stop? COSSACKS! Let them catch me... MUHAHAHA c4 B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StitchInTime Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 It's only dialup that makes me stop, but if I had the money to get high speed access, I'd probably just go buy what I want instead, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Make'em stop? Hell no. The jail time would suck, but ironically in this day and age one of the perks for "good behavior" in jail is usage of a computer for the Internet ;p Plus, I'd just laugh at them for the $100,000 fine. I barely can scrape together $100 let alone $100,000. Even though I consider my personal government twisted and evil, I can't see them repo'ing your car, home, etc to pay for it. All it would take is a case similar to the single mom/RIAA thing; fine a $100,000 charge to a single mother with multiple kids. Assuming her kids can stay with family while she does the year or two in jail, once she gets out it would look extremely bad for them to reposes her car, her house and garnish probably what little work wages she has. While the devils that are corporate CEO's don't mind sucking people dry, they do like to at least keep a certain dignity in the public eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest c4evap Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 SNIPPET: While the devils that are corporate CEO's don't mind sucking people dry' date=' they do like to at least keep a certain dignity in the public eye.[/quote'] I wouldn't count on that. Money...it's all about the money. I don't believe I've seen them back down from a case yet. If anyone knows of a case they did back down on please post the details here. c4 B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceedj Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 From the "Irony is F***ed Up" Department... The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has been accused of breaking its own rules and making illegal copies of a film. The claims, which came to light at the Sundance Film Festival, centre on a movie called This Film Is Not Yet Rated. The film examines the role of the MPAA in deciding classifications for films containing scenes of sex and violence, and investigates whether it treats independent films unfairly. Kirby Dick, the film's maker, submitted the film in November and said that the MPAA's lawyer admitted to copying the DVD. He has now filed a suit to recover all copies of the film and to determine who ordered the illegal actions. Kori Bernards, the MPAA's vice president for corporate communications, told the Los Angeles Times: "We made a copy of Kirby's movie because it had implications for our employees." Bernards also claimed that Dick spied on members of the MPAA's Classification and Rating Administration, including going through their dustbins and following them as they drove their children to school. "We were concerned about the raters and their families," she said, adding that the MPAA's copy of This Film Is Not Yet Rated is "locked away" and is not being copied or distributed. But this action appears to run against the official line on the organisation's website which states: "Piracy is a serious federal offence. There are several forms of piracy including internet piracy, DVD copying, illegal sales and theatrical camcording. All forms of piracy are illegal and carry serious legal consequences." Source - http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2149223/mpaa-accused-piracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest c4evap Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Yeah. We already have a thread on it. ROFL LOL. c4 B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceedj Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 My apologies. I didn't notice that topic, and thought this was relavant to this topic. Sorry. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest c4evap Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Oh damn...sorry...it's cool you reposted...just thought you might want to read some of the comments in that thread as well. Wasn't trying to be a smart-arse. c4 B) ~ causing trouble since 1776 :cyclops: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TetsuoShima Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 c4 B) ~ causing trouble since 1776 :cyclops: Heya granny, I had nooo idea you were THAT old.... :cyclops: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest c4evap Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 c4 B) ~ causing trouble since 1776 :cyclops: Heya granny, I had nooo idea you were THAT old.... :cyclops: I meant my country ;) c4 B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TetsuoShima Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 c4 B) ~ causing trouble since 1776 :cyclops: Heya granny, I had nooo idea you were THAT old.... :cyclops: I meant my country ;) c4 B) Doh... :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbbb Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 It's a shame they got caught, but I must admit they kind of put a thorn in our side. The MPAA will simply do more searches and arrests. It's great to be in Canada, beyond the reach of the infernal MPAA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Relentless Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I hear ya bbbb :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceedj Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 c4 - Nah, it's cool. I should apologize for my apology. I was just waking up when I posted that, having recovered from a very odd dream that seemed to be my very own "These are the Voyages..." No, Trip didn't die or anything, it's just that the structure was the same and... Maybe I should just stop now... :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theaveng Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 SO who deleted my post? To repeat what I said, "That guy who stole the DVD from the production faciliy deserved what he got. His theft of the Studio Copy led to millions of people downloading it for free, and NOT going to the theater, thereby reducing the income for Lucas studios & its minimum wage employees." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mav Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Yes because Lucas's various companies don't already have multiple billions apon which they sit atop of.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceedj Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 I refuse to spend $20 or more at a theater when I can own the DVD for a bout the same price in six months. IF the movie is worth it. The last movie I saw at a theater was THHGTTG, which wasn't even that good. Doesn't help that I lost my mp3 player there either. :( No, the studios get no more of my cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theaveng Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Yes because Lucas's various companies don't already have multiple billions apon which they sit atop of.. Agreed with you. BUT what about the $5.00 an hour laborers who got laid-off, because SW3's sales were poor (because millions downloaded instead of going to the theater)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meateater Posted February 3, 2006 Share Posted February 3, 2006 I refuse to spend $20 or more at a theater when I can own the DVD for a bout the same price in six months. IF the movie is worth it. That's my philosophy when it comes to movies. I'm not going to waste $8.00 watching a movie in the theatres unless it looks really good. Any movies that fall short of my expectations I'll wait for the DVD release 6 months later. BTW, SW3 was a big disappointment to me. If I wanted special effects up the ying-yang I would play video games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyran Posted February 3, 2006 Share Posted February 3, 2006 SO who deleted my post? To repeat what I said, "That guy who stole the DVD from the production faciliy deserved what he got. His theft of the Studio Copy led to millions of people downloading it for free, and NOT going to the theater, thereby reducing the income for Lucas studios & its minimum wage employees." i downloaded it AND i went to the cinema and saw it where did they lose money? am i mad? quoting troy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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