Hotfile ordered to pay damages, install copyright filtering, says MPAA

December 04, 2013

File-hosting website Hotfile has agreed to pay US$80 million in damages and was also ordered to stop operations unless it uses copyright filtering technologies that prevent infringement of the works of studios, the Motion Picture Association of America said Tuesday.The entry of the judgment against Hotfile marks the end of the studios’ litigation against the cyberlocker and its principal, Anton Titov, the movie industry body said. The jury trial of the case was scheduled for Monday.Five U.S. movie studios filed a copyright infringement suit against Hotfile in 2011, alleging that the company paid incentives to users for uploading popular files to the system, that were widely shared. The scheme hence provided incentives to users to upload popular copyright infringing content to attract users who would pay for premium accounts to access and download the files, according to the complaint by the studios.The US District Court for the Southern District of Florida found in August that Hotfile was liable for copyright infringement, and Titov was personally liable for Hotfile’s infringement.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2068920/hotfile-ordered-to-pay-damages-install-copyright-filtering-says-mpaa.html#tk.rss_all