Panama Based "Hotfile" Gets Sued By 5 American Studios

The Scarlet Pimp

The Scarlet Pimp

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this is a warning for those who think that hosting in panama will protect their a$$ from lawsuits... :eek:
(it seems the long arm of the law is getting even longer)


Five Hollywood Studios Sue 'Hotfile' Over Copyright

Feb 9, 2011

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Five Hollywood studios are suing a website that streams movies, accusing it of copyright infringement on a "massive scale".

Disney Enterprises Inc, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp, Universal City Studios Productions, Columbia Pictures Industries and Warner Bros Entertainment Inc on Tuesday filed suit against Hotfile Corp and Hotfile manager Anton Titov, according to documents filed with the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida Miami Division.

The Hollywood studios say that Panamanian Hotfile actively encourages users to upload and disseminate copyrighted content, and pays them to do so. They say that Hotfile has profited from the arrangement.

"Hotfile profits from this theft by charging a monthly fee to users who download content from its servers. Hotfile also operates an incentive scheme that rewards users for uploading the most popular files -- which are almost exclusively copyrighted works.

Hotfile profits richly while paying nothing to the studios for their stolen content," the Motion Picture Association of America Inc said in a separate statement.

In less than two years of operation, Hotfile has become one of the most heavily-trafficked sites on the Internet, according to the filing.

The studios are seeking damages and injunctive relief, according to the filing.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110209/media_nm/us_hollywood_lawsuit
 
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LOL another one, Liberty Media Corproration filed a law suit against Hotfile in january and also named PayPal as a defendant. :eek:
 
I bet that idea was sold to them by some slick salesman law firm who will make millions
on an unenforceable ruling.
 
oxonbeef said:
I bet that idea was sold to them by some slick salesman law firm who will make millions
on an unenforceable ruling.
Click to expand...

Thats what I was wondering. Not sure how this is going to play out. Last I knew, U.S. law wasn't really enforceable in another sovereign country. They might get a judgement, but I'll bet they'll have a tough time collecting any judgment that might occur.

But you can bet that the lawyers will collect their fees... ;)
 
Randy569 said:
Thats what I was wondering. Not sure how this is going to play out. Last I knew, U.S. law wasn't really enforceable in another sovereign country. They might get a judgement, but I'll bet they'll have a tough time collecting any judgment that might occur.
Click to expand...

U.S. law itself isn't enforceable in other countries, per se, but there are things call "Treaties" that are reciprocal. U.S. has such types of treaties with many European countries.

Whether Panama has one for this type of thing with the U.S., I don't know. IF they do than that WILL be an issue for HF.

Even the Swiss banks (which used to be SOLID tight) are no longer totally immune from giving up some info when forced to.

Sux, though. Glad I didn't pay for a subscription yet.

FWIW ...

RM
 
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I do not believe Panama has extradition, so what exactly is the point?

Civil suit will be in the plantiff's favor, but I don't get how they are ever going to see a dime?
 
The Americans will most probably send in a covert team of navy seals, kidnap him back
to the US, hold him up by his ankles and shake his pockets out.
 
Hotfile is not going to reply them and case will never end.
 
Chronos said:
I do not believe Panama has extradition, so what exactly is the point?

Civil suit will be in the plantiff's favor, but I don't get how they are ever going to see a dime?
Click to expand...

i recall the us govt recently siezed a domain name/site under the national security act, basically the program set up to fight terrorism is now being used for corporate interests. it wouldnt be surprising if its used in this case as well.
 
Aaric said:
Hotfile is not going to reply them and case will never end.
Click to expand...

Hotfile is already closing people's accounts because of this, so it's not something to ignore. They are complying (somewhat) with the suit, and they may start giving out names.
 
The Scarlet Pimp said:
Hotfile is already closing people's accounts because of this, so it's not something to ignore. They are complying (somewhat) with the suit, and they may start giving out names.
Click to expand...

That's why you should never trust these companies in anything they say. In fact you should keep clear from anything that has a "copyright" sticker on it. They'll just fuck you over big time.
 
Panama is not even considered secured offshore.. Try Russia or the Netherlands...


And even so this lawsuit has nothing to do with hotfile getting caught while hosting offshore..

Hell look at demoniod torrents and more....
 
oxonbeef said:
The Americans will most probably send in a covert team of navy seals, kidnap him back
to the US, hold him up by his ankles and shake his pockets out.
Click to expand...

And then they will send him back to Panama and do the same thing 6 months later when the pockets are re-filled.
 
Nothing will happen. Just look at the pirate bay, still online and stronger than ever. Even if hotfile closes operations there will only be a 100 other sites to mirror hotfile's business model. They get 21 million visits and they are alexa 56, just goes to show how huge they are.

also check out wikipedia's section on the topic:

On 6th January 2011, US Media conglomerate Liberty Media Corproration filed suit against Hotfile, Paypal and 1,000 Hotfile 'John Doe' account holders. Liberty Media's case states that; the defendants "jointly and severally, with actual or constructive knowledge of or with willful blindness, reproduced and distributed certain LIBERTY-owned works through www.Hotfile.com.".
Liberty are asking the court to seize Hotfile's domain address.
Liberty's case goes onto describe Hotfile Corps as; ...."a Panamanian company with no physical presence there and one that takes steps to "obfuscate the facts of its location, address, and principals." It also states that; "...Hotfile's owner is a Russian named Anton Titov, who may or may not be a resident of Bulgaria and/or The Netherlands, and who also may have a residence in Florida."
A company called Lemuria Communications is also listed as a defendant. The company is claimed by Liberty to be Hotfile's webhost and an alter ego of Anton Titov. Hotfile is said to operate servers in Dallas, Texas and Florida. PayPal is also named as a defendant on the basis that it offers financial services to Hotfile, Titov and Lemuria. Liberty demands that the court freezes defendants' assets held by PayPal pending the outcome of the case.
Furthermore, Liberty's states that "...(Hotfile's) aim is "to profit from the illegal sharing of copyrighted materials, many of which are the intellectual property of LIBERTY," material which the studio says is placed there by "an army of assistants." Liberty describes Hotfile as a massive copyright infringer which encourages affiliates to upload copyright material in order to attract further visitors to its website from which both the company and affiliates profit. With demands for a jury trial, Liberty Media claims Hotfile is guilty of inducing, contributory and vicarious infringement and wants statutory damages of $150,000 per infringed work. [4]
Click to expand...
 
They are going to take his house, freeze his bank and fuck him straight up because he likes to live in Miami
 
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