TorrentSpy.com loses Copyright Violation Case

Amsterdam based TorrentSpy.com has reportedly erased some data from the website which has resulted in the loss of a suit filed against them by Motion Picture Association of America.

TorrentSpy.com is a peer to peer network based website which allows the users to exchange data with each other by using software called BitTorrent. The software lets users share large files with others on the same network, making it popular for exchanging music and games.

Members of the Motion Picture Association of America, a film industry trade group, sued TorrentSpy in 2006, accusing it of illegally allowing users around the world to download and store full-length movies using BitTorrent.

The judge held TorrentSpy responsible for extensive movie piracy because it destroyed evidence in the copyright case. The act of erasing certain data from the website interfered in the fair judgment of the case by the court and thus, he has to rule out the case against TorrentSpy.

He said that he agreed with the attorneys of the Motion Pictures who asked the court to rule the case against TorrentSpy as the act of destruction of data impacted the ability for the movie studios to prove its case.

"The court finds that plaintiffs have suffered prejudice, to the extent that a rightful decision is not possible," the ruling said.

TorrentSpy on the other hand is very disappointed by the judgment and called the decision "draconian in nature and unfair."

"It's not like they proved their case. It's not like they proved that TorrentSpy infringed copyright," said Justin Bunnell, founder of TorrentSpy.

"I think we have a lot of grounds for appeal and we'll pursue it vigorously."

Ira Rothken , who is the attorney of the company in San Francisco, said that the data was not erased with an intention to interfere with the court’s proceedings. This step was only taken to ensure the privacy of the users, which is their fundamental right.

The company will definitely appeal against the decision, he added.

Motion pictures are really happy about the judgment as John Malcolm, executive vice president and director of worldwide antipiracy operations for the Motion Picture Association of America said that it is a "significant victory for the major Hollywood studios."

He said piracy causes huge losses to the entertainment companies with the figures reaching almost an $11 billion per year.

A final judgment will be made once the studios demonstrate how much revenue they may have lost from TorrentSpy's operation.

TorrentSpy has already blocked its operations in U.S. and displays a message: "Sorry, but because you are located in the USA you cannot use the search features of the Torrentspy.com website," when a person tries to open the site from U.S. servers.

TorrentSpy is operational in other countries of the world and the owner said that a ruling in U.S. can’t stop the TorrentSpy from doing business in other countries.