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Pirate Bay Sports-Content Uploader Faces $32m Lawsuit

As reported by TorrentFreak, a New York man's large-scale pirating of Ultimate Fighting Championship videos via The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents has landed him on the uncomfortable end of a $32 million lawsuit. From the article: "Known online as Secludedly, the man uploaded at least 124 events. As a result UFC parent Zuffa is hitting him with everything from copyright infringement, to fraud, to breach of contract. ... The lawsuit, which includes two other doe defendants and an unknown company Zuffa refers to as XYZ Corp (“a business entity, the exact nature of which is unknown”), centers around the unlawful recording (“capping”), uploading and distribution of more than 120 UFC events via two of the world’s biggest torrent sites. ... Also receiving a prominent mention from Zuffa is the fact that Secludedly allowed people to donate via a PayPal in order to help with the financing of future ripping and uploading activities."

21 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. Happy to see it. by ThisIsSaei2561 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Content creators going after the uploaders rather than the torrent format or site? Good. That's doing it right.

    1. Re:Happy to see it. by brainnolo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In principle, yes. But $32m? This means ruining this person's life forever, and all because he uploaded some sport shows. Sorry no, murderers have it easier, fraudsters (especially very big ones) have it much much easier, etc. Uploading shows, well it is somehow wrong, but it shouldn't cost you your life.

    2. Re:Happy to see it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      In principle, yes. But $32m? This means ruining this person's life forever

      There's still the PayPal option. ;-)

    3. Re:Happy to see it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's just the risk inherent in doing something illegal. Sometimes someone gets caught, and that person needs to be made an example of to scare others away.

      No, no, no. We're supposed to have a justice system. The punishment should always fit the crime, and people shouldn't arbitrarily be given harsher punishments just to deter others from committing the same crimes. That's unjust, and even if it is effective, we should reject it.

      Blame your government for cultivating a culture of fearmongering and backwards thinking.

      Not only the government, but the "Tough On Crime" morons.

    4. Re:Happy to see it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Our implementation of "justice" is overrated. Psychology repeatedly shows that punishment is not effective. Criminology suggests that recidivism does not become less likely as the punishment increases. A "rehabilitation system" is what's needed, and what's always been needed: if someone harms society, do what's needed and humane to discourage them from harming society again. Anything else is primitive, knuggle-dragging moronism.

    5. Re:Happy to see it. by TWX · · Score: 2

      The only issue that I take with what you say isn't with your numbers of downloaders of the pirated content, rather that the availability of the pirated content has a 1:1 relationship with lost revenue.

      As has been rehashed over the years, there are lots of people that will download content that is free to them that would never have paid for it in the first place. There are also lots of people that will download content and never really play that content.

      So basically, if one wouldn't have paid for the content had it only been available for-pay, then it's not really lost revenue.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    6. Re:Happy to see it. by kthreadd · · Score: 2

      Which is exactly why they shouldn't have to face a fine that high.

    7. Re:Happy to see it. by countach · · Score: 2

      Come now, it wasn't some teenager uploading his music collection. It was someone systematically ripping an entire series of works and taking paypal donations. That's the moral equivalent of duplicating the latest movie and having a network of sellers flogging the movie outside all theatres on DVD for $1 a pop.

    8. Re:Happy to see it. by Type44Q · · Score: 3, Funny

      A "rehabilitation system" is what's needed

      The guy isn't that warped; it's not as if he was uploading Pro Wrestling.

    9. Re:Happy to see it. by tomhath · · Score: 2

      This is a civil suit, not criminal.

    10. Re:Happy to see it. by matbury · · Score: 2

      What they really need is a webcam on everyone's TV (at their own expense or the taxpayers', it doesn't matter which) to record who's watching which shows so customers can't invite neighbours around to commit copyright infringement/breach of contract. We also need to divert more law enforcement and legal resources away from frivolous crimes like robbery, murder, and rape to stopping/preventing these heinous copyright infringement crimes that are dragging society down into immorality and depravity. Perhaps we could offer some kind of incentive to the police/courts by offering them a cut in any fines/damages awarded, something like the way they make money handing out traffic tickets. That'd definitely provide a stronger incentive to prioritise copyright infringement. If that doesn't work, we could reduce state/federal funding to those agencies to make them more dependent on their cut of fines/damages.

    11. Re:Happy to see it. by sjames · · Score: 2

      Actually, the Nordic countries (particularly Sweden) are considered almost luxurious by U.S. standards and include prisoners going to a 9-5 job and returning at night. Their recidivism rate is well below the U.S. rate. So there it is, a practical example.

    12. Re:Happy to see it. by fredprado · · Score: 2

      Sure, crime rates are better there. On the other hand crime rates are even lower in the Emirates, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, for example where justice is punitive, much less interested in rehabilitation, and considerably harsher than in US.

      In short you have no data to back up your assumption that rehabilitation produces better results.

  2. No link to TFA? by Sqr(twg) · · Score: 4, Informative

    Why is there no link to the f* article in the summary?

    1. Re:No link to TFA? by concertina226 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well the story it came from is here, which tells you who secludedly is - Torrent Freak is the only site online that doesn't want to name him: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/pirat...

  3. Breach of Contract? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

    Seriously can you throw out court cases because the plaintiff accuses of too much bullshit? Copyright infringement, yeah I get that. But fraud? How is torrenting a video fraud unless the man's username was OfficialUFCDistributor or some other misrepresentation like that.

    But breach of contract? That should be a simple one. Show me the signed contract and THEN we can talk about how it was breached. Given that the person is going by username, and a company called XYZ corp I'm willing to bet Zuffa doesn't have a legally binding contract unless they routinely make contracts without any identities.

  4. Re:UFC can kiss my ass! by jones_supa · · Score: 2

    Even if the price seems ridiculous, you are not entitled to just grab the content for free if you can't or won't pay for it.

  5. Re:Obviously, filesharing needs better anonymity.. by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well, it mainly depends on what side you root for. If getting caught breaking the law is the problem, and if you consider the law unjust, then the obvious solution for you is a better way to circumvent the law.

    For reference, see prohibition.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  6. Re:huh? by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    I think he's the guy that is usually already so drunk when you arrive at the bar that he keeps paying for your drinks.

    Awesome dude, really, but ... not much of a conversation buddy.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  7. Re:Happy to see it - Gonna sue for $ 14 Trillion.. by ami.one · · Score: 2

    Thanks for the Lemons analogy. Just one correction:

    Consider that the lemonade was COPIED (recipe..)

    Your turn.

  8. sad to see it. by bzipitidoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    if someone harms society

    This is an important point that should not be lightly passed over. Do uploaders harm society? Your comment appears to take it as a given that the answer is "yes". All your points about punishment and rehab may be relevant, if that's true. You say that punishment is not effective. Why isn't it effective? I suggest it is because in this instance the deed for which punishment is being meted out should not be a crime.

    If uploaders do not harm society, then the situation is very different. In that case, the law is outdated, wrong, cruel, and a tool of evil oppressors. Those who are sowing confusion and preventing the laws from being reformed have their own obvious agenda of maintaining a status quo that unfairly enriches them at the expense of everyone else. Where is our digital public library? And punishment looks not like justice, but mere brutality, and will not convince anyone. As arguments go, punishment is one of the weakest. Certainly exposes the establishment as ideologically bankrupt. Their other arguments, that artists will starve and we'll not have any more art, and that copying is stealing, are being seen more and more as plain wrong. All they have left are threats. Threats and punishments don't make Christians out of unbelievers and heretics, they just drive heresy underground.

    --
    Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"