Gilberto Sanchez might need to hire the best criminal attorney in Los Angeles if he wants to stay out of federal prison and avoid millions of dollars in fines. The man has been charged by a Los Angeles grand jury with "illegally uploading a Hollywood movie to the internet before its theatrical release," according to the Los Angeles Times.
Authorities say that the man allegedly uploaded the feature film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" last April, a month before the film hit theaters. Sanchez, 47, now faces a maximum penalty of three years in jail and a fine of either $250,000 or an amount of money equal to twice the gross gain or gross loss attributable for the offense, whichever is greater.
The unauthorized copy of the film was released onto the film to file-sharing network Megaupload.com, where the film had been viewed online 4.1 million times by the time the movie was screened in theaters. Sanchez allegedly uploaded the film using an online alias, so it was difficult for FBI investigators to track down a suspect responsible for the illegal file sharing.
FBI agents were finally able to arrest Sanchez in the Bronx, New York early Wednesday morning without incident. At the time of the film's unauthorized release, Hollywood producers and filmmakers became flustered, as the film cost $100 million to make. They feared that an early release over the internet would hurt box office ticket sales.
However, proponents of file sharing say that early internet leaks of Hollywood feature films lead to a large amount of publicity and can build interest with such a movie, which can boost ticket sales.
- FBI Makes Arrest in 'Wolverine' Uploading Case (CNet News)
- Digital Ownership of File-Sharing (FindLaw)
- P2P File-Sharing: Evaluate the Risks (FindLaw)
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