Back in February 2011, the Motion Picture Association of America pursued a lawsuit against Hotfile, the file-sharing service which was commonly used to pirate movies. Today, the MPAA and Hotfile agreed to an $80,000,000 settlement. Hotfile had filed a countersuit, alleging that the MPAA had abused the DMCA takedown procedure, though the end result of the countersuit is currently unknown.
In addition to the big payout, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida also ordered Hotfile to cease all operations unless it begins to use digital fingerprinting in an effort to sniff out and remove pirated content.
MPAA Chairman and CEO Chris Dodd, a former U.S. Senator, had this to say about the outcome of the case.
“This judgment by the court is another important step toward protecting an Internet that works for everyone. Sites like Hotfile that illegally profit off of the creativity and hard work of others do a serious disservice to audiences, who deserve high-quality, legitimate viewing experiences online.”
While $80,000,000 is a far cry from the $500,000,000 settlement that the MPAA was originally seeking, it’s unclear what Hotfile’s future is after this settlement was reached, especially considering that Hotfile has removed premium offerings from its site. We’ll bring you updates as they happen.
Image credit: http://www.excessivebail.com
