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NinjaVideo.net Founder Gets 14 Months

Posted by samzenpus on from the do-not-pass-go dept.

angry tapir writes "A Virginia judge has sentenced Matthew David Howard Smith, a founder of the NinjaVideo.net website, to 14 months in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday. Smith was indicted along with four others late last year. The DOJ charged that they illegally provided copyright-protected movies and TV programs for download from the NinjaVideo.net website. The site operated from February 2008 until authorities shut it down in June 2010."

3 of 239 comments (clear)

  1. My tax money supporting the film industry by BlueCoder · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am upset that my taxes go to supporting the film industry's copyright policing like this.

    Keeping a person in jail for a year costs between 25-50K not including court costs.

    That's money that can be used for more worthwhile things. What it's being spent on will not result in any changed behavior or profits for the entertainment industry. It only drives things more underground and makes people become more sophisticated. The only people making money from this are the lawyers collecting paychecks and not producing anything of worth for society.

    It's also exposes all the corrupt politicians and the justice system. While they have always been corrupt I would have been happier to live in ignorance than to have it exposed out in the open like this.

    Copyright police? Censorship? The original politicians that started this country are turning over in their graves. This country was started as a backlash to self serving corruption like this.

  2. "Authorities"? by jginspace · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The site operated from February 2008 until authorities shut it down in June 2010.

    Ninjavideo.net was among the first group of sites seized by ICE and their "authority" is questionable.

    Interestingly, ICE have not placed a redirect to their Youtube video yet on any of the Ninja* sites (see TVshack.cc for an example) so presumably the decision to steal/confiscate the site is still being contested by Matthew David Howard Smith or an associate.

  3. Re:meanwhile: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Here's a graph that explains it for you.

    At left, we see that as people at the bottom of the income spectrum care more about an issue, the probability of action on that issue scarcely budges. At right we see that policy responds a little more to median preferences. But what's clear in both is that the rich are much more successful at getting their issues on the docket.

    So no, money alone does buy you your interests. There will obviously be counter-examples. But the policy decisions will largely prevail in your favour unless there is a large countervailing public opinion (as there was with all the examples you've provided). Basically, unless a large portion of the public decides it's an issue, the decision will go in favour of the wealthy.

    Money in politics is the single biggest corrupting factor in politics. Remove direct money & indirect money & benefits will be the next biggest factor. & it'll keep going that way, but each time the totals will (in theory) keep decreasing so you're making a net positive change.