kid is fined $2900 for downloading a single movie

On one hand I have seen the punishment a lot worse per movie downloaded. On the other I still think it's massively screwed up that a dvd is about $15-$20 new and if you were to steal that amount of merchandise from a grocerery store it would be labeled as petty theft, but if you pirate something which leaves the owner with the original copy, you will have to pay thousands.

Anyways what are your thoughts? Did he get what he had coming?

http://www.jsyk.com/2011/02/24/think-twice-teen-fined-2900-for-illegally-downloading-a-movie/?icid=maing|maing7|dl9|sec3_lnk1|46638

And the one who actually uploaded the torrent is just laughing.

EDIT: Oh yeah, about the petty theft point: "Bu... bu... but, they stole our ideas!"

Sucks. The fines are so high to deter other people from pirating imo, it's hard to police.

How many other people did he facilitate the torrent by hosting the file himself?Engrish_Major

How did they only catch one person? frostybanana

They didn't, they fined a bunch of people for downloading The Hurt Locker. This one got coverage probably because it was a kid who did it.

"This will make you think twice before you hit those BitTorrent sites. A 17-year-old in Albuquerque, N.M. has been fined $2900 for illegally downloading the movie 'Hurt Locker.'"

That line in the article makes it sound like it was written by the studio. :lol:

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]How many other people did he facilitate the torrent by hosting the file himself?Serraph105

What are you talking about? It is a torrent it does that automatically... It is called "peer to peer" all the data he download was instantly being re-uploaded so other people could download it... There is no server (legal server that is) where people just download from... All torrented data comes from other users' systems...

Sucks. The fines are so high to deter other people from pirating imo, it's hard to police.

The_Sand_Man

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]How many other people did he facilitate the torrent by hosting the file himself?Serraph105

[QUOTE="Serraph105"][QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]How many other people did he facilitate the torrent by hosting the file himself?Engrish_Major

:roll: I'm saying the article didn't specify.

Not really concerned. Statistically this happening to you is about as likely as having a piano dropped on your head by a malfunctioning cargo plane as it flies over your house.

And no, this will do nothing to "make people think twice" before hitting torrents as the article states. Worst case scenario is increases the amount of hit and run downloaders by .000000000000000012%

This isn't even considering that the entire story is probably a complete fabrication in an attempt to do exactly what it's going to fail so horribly at ( scaring people into curbing their pirating habits ).

:roll: I'm saying the article didn't specify.

Serraph105

what a weird name he has S:

The punishments for downloading movies can be a bit ridiculous. Studios try to claim that it is killing the movie industry, yet in 2010 world wide box office receipts rose. Plus in many cases, as with The Hurt Locker, films have such limited releases that downloads get them more viewers, word of mouth praise and then later potential DVD/Blu-Ray buyers then there would have been if it hadn't leaked online. Not to say that I condone illegal downloading, but they will never stop and going after a select few in this way isn't doing anything. Studios should focus more on getting people to the theater, and making films (especially those with limited releases) easily accessible to those not willing to travel fifty minutes to see them.

if it was The Hurt Locker he downloaded the fine was probably doubled for "bad taste" in movies.:lol:

Studios try to claim that it is killing the movie industry, yet in 2010 world wide box office receipts rose. SaintLeonidas

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]How many other people did he facilitate the torrent by hosting the file himself?Serraph105

[QUOTE="Serraph105"][QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]How many other people did he facilitate the torrent by hosting the file himself?ferrari2001

[QUOTE="SaintLeonidas"]Studios try to claim that it is killing the movie industry, yet in 2010 world wide box office receipts rose. foxhound_fox

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010-set-box-office-records-11-population-accounts-51-tickets-sold/

"According to the Motion Picture Association of America, worldwide box office receipts actually rose 8% in 2010 to $31.8 billion dollars. Of course, much of that has to do with rising ticket prices (up $.39 this year) and the sheer number of movies that demand a premium price, but it's still a staggering number that goes against popular thinking that movie attendance is dying."

I will agree that the industry is evolving and now everyone, well at least most, have home entertainment systems, I just wish the studios realized this as well. Which is why I think they need to put more focus on getting these limited release films like The Hurt Locker to the homes at the same times as they are in limited theaters. OnDemand currently has a section in which they offer independent films, with limited to no theatrical releases, for about the same price of a ticket at the cinema. Why more studios haven't taken advantage of this baffles me because it would help cut back on these illegal downloads and would make many independent films more profitable than they would have been if they weren't accessible in this way.

Theaters will never be obsolete and there will still be people who want to see certain films on the big screen, but they shouldn't be the main focus anymore.

If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.Hemmaroids

[QUOTE="ferrari2001"][QUOTE="Serraph105"] the article didn't say he did that.Inconsistancy

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010-set-box-office-records-11-population-accounts-51-tickets-sold/

"According to the Motion Picture Association of America, worldwide box office receipts actually rose 8% in 2010 to $31.8 billion dollars. Of course, much of that has to do with rising ticket prices (up $.39 this year) and the sheer number of movies that demand a premium price, but it's still a staggering number that goes against popular thinking that movie attendance is dying."

I will agree that the industry is evolving and now everyone, well at least most, have home entertainment systems, I just wish the studios realized this as well. Which is why I think they need to put more focus on getting these limited release films like The Hurt Locker to the homes at the same times as they are in limited theaters. OnDemand currently has a section in which they offer independent films, with limited to no theatrical releases, for about the same price of a ticket at the cinema. Why more studios haven't taken advantage of this baffles me because it would help cut back on these illegal downloads and would make many independent films more profitable than they would have been if they weren't accessible in this way.

Theaters will never be obsolete and there will still be people who want to see certain films on the big screen, but they shouldn't be the main focus anymore.

SaintLeonidas

In other news Hollywood posted a record profit for the year of 2010.

Pretty clear the piracy is destroying the film industry.

I wonder.. if that person went to the store, bought the film... afterwards, that is... couldn't he then try act as if he already owned the rights to that movie? I'd be like.. well, I paid for this movie, so I'll download as many copies of it as I want.SolidSnake35

excpet the Hurt Locker - even winning the Academy Award that thing barely cleared housekeeping.

the miltary coming back and the people who were in action spread the word that this piece of **** was not the real thing just a reporter dream.

attendence was low and it never made much of a splash (thank the Good Lord for that)

:roll: I'm saying the article didn't specify.

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"][QUOTE="Serraph105"]

:roll: I'm saying the article didn't specify.

sonicare

This is insane , i bet he wouldn't buy that sh** anyway so why not get it free .TaoJeetKuneDo

If I agreed with that line of reasoning, then I'd be getting EVERYTHING for free.

No, seriously, I thought that movie won an award or two or am I thinking of another movie? MistressMinako

You're right, The Hurt Locker won Best Picture last year. It didn't do well at the box office though.

That much?

Its ridiculous.

How do they even know someone's pirating?

What have we learned here today?

Use a condom while torrenting, or better yet do it with that sexy usenet from uptown.

Honestly this just seems to be a case of the producers of The Hurt Locker being butthurt that their crappy (no, I didn't like it) movie didn't make any money at the box office. They didn't make any money because of POOR marketing not because people were pirating the movie. As someone who tried to stay informed on what's going on in the movie world, I didn't have hear about this movie until after it was released and started generating Oscar buzz. Check the box office numbers. Movies are making more money than they were 10-20 years ago. There is no huge drop in box office revenue to indicate that piracy is having a huge effect on those numbers. Besides which the movie was more of a critic-pleaser than it was a crowd-pleaser. Most people I talked to either thought it was decent or just OK. I haven't heard any normal person really rave about how great the movie was. With that in mind, is a it a surprise that it didn't smash the box office? The movie still outgrossed it's budget however so whatever. They can blame piracy for their shortcomings but really they have no one to blame but themselves.frostybanana

I think the punishment of said crime is reasonable, as he deserves to be punished for piracy but the severity of the punishment is outrageous in my opinion.