Movie Studios Win $111 Million Lawsuit Against TorrentSpy

Pirates, that phrase has always had kind of a romantic meaning in years past. The idea of setting off on the seven seas to find adventure and treasure, is pretty close to the American ideal. When the era of the internet ushered in, the idea of piracy took a whole new meaning. Yesterday, the new pirates of the world took a huge blow, when a group of major movies studios won a lawsuit against TorrentSpy.

TorrentSpy, is a search program which helps people find BitTorrent files across the internet. These files can hold a massive amount of data, which makes it perfect for storing movies, music albums, and games. So, when TorrentSpy offered their service of finding BitTorrents, they helped provide people with pirated materials. Of course if there’s anything that Hollywood hates most now of days, besides George Bush, it’s internet pirates.

In 2006 the MPAA filed a suit against TorrentSpy for copyright infringement. Ever since, TorrentSpy has been represented by Ira Rothken, who believes the final number of $111 million is outlandish. He believes that the entire suit is just a public-relations stunt, put on by the MPAA and the judge overseeing the case. The reason being is that TorrentSpy is completely bankrupt. So even though the MPAA has won the case, very little money will be sent their way.

TorrentSpy had a lot to do with their own demise though. The district judge that was overseeing the case had determined that TorrentSpy had destroyed evidence that was vital to the case. After this, the judge terminated the case, automatically ruling in favor of the MPAA. As of now Rothken and TorrentSpy are appealing the case, so only time will tell as to the final outcome of TorrentSpy vs The MPAA.

I really don’t understand the case against TorrentSpy. As someone who studies a lot about the internet, and has a general understanding of the going-ons, to me the MPAA’s case doesn’t hold water. The equivalent of suing TorrentSpy, is like someone suing a gun because someone used it to kill someone. TorrentSpy is just a platform which can be used for all kinds of different processes. Just because some people used it for piracy doesn’t mean that TorrentSpy was sponsoring it.