Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by n1 on Sunday August 24 2014, @02:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the it-doesn't-look-good dept.

BBC reports that computer programmer Philip Danks for has been jailed for 33 months after recording Fast And Furious 6 from the back of a cinema after a judge in Wolverhampton ruled that the defendant uploaded the movie, which was downloaded 700,000 times. As well as putting the film on the internet, Danks offered to sell copies of the film using his Facebook profile.

The judge who sentenced Danks said his behavour was "bold, arrogant and cocksure". Police said that Danks had continued to illegally distribute movies after his arrest in May last year. Fraud investigators quickly traced him after they noticed his online ‘Thecod3r’ tag attached to the video was identical to his profile on dating site Plenty of Fish. Danks was arrested by police after a special ‘webwatch’ team was set up by LA-based Universal Pictures, who raided his home in Bloxwich, Walsall on May 23 – less than a week after the video surfaced online.

The court heard that despite making some money from sales of the film on Facebook and by personal delivery his real motive was ‘street cred’. "The first person with a pirated version attracts much kudos," said Ari Alibhai, prosecuting on behalf of the Federation Against Copyright Theft. "He wanted recognition from the community."

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 24 2014, @04:15AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 24 2014, @04:15AM (#84855)

    His lawyers should have argued it was a parody etc. He taped the performance on screen and whatever else might have gotten in the way? How is that different from photographing a work of art? Is it not another separate work of art? No? Arrest the Paparazzi! When is there not something in your viewfinder that isn't copyrighted? Probably not as often as there is.

    Mind you, he is still a dipshit for trying to sell such a piece of junk.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   -1  
       Troll=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Troll' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   -1