A man who supplied the peer-to-peer network formerly known as BitTorrent with a copy of the final Star Wars movie pleaded guilty to a count of copyright infringement and one count of criminal copyright infringement. He faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.
"This groundbreaking case demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Justice to prosecute individuals who use new technologies to undermine the copyright laws," said U.S. Attorney Buchanan. "It also serves as an example to those who believe that there is anonymity in cyberspace."
This is the first criminal enforcement action against copyright infringement on a P2P network using BitTorrent technology. McCausland’s conviction is the third in a series of convictions arising from Operation D-Elite, a federal crackdown against the first providers (or suppliers) of pirated works to the technologically-sophisticated P2P network known as Elite Torrents. At its prime, the Elite Torrents network attracted more than 133,000 members and facilitated the illegal distribution of more than 2 million copies of movies, software, music, and games. On May 25, 2005, federal agents shut down the Elite Torrents network by seizing its main server and replacing its log-in web page with the following notice: "This Site Has Been Permanently Shut Down by the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)." Within the first week alone, this message was viewed over half a million times.
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