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TorrentSpy will not be paying $110 million USD fine

10 May 2008 18:31 by Andre "DVDBack23" Yoskowitz | 11 comments

Just days after being hit with one of the largest fines in copyright infringement history, a lawyer for the now dead torrent search engine TorrentSpy has said the business is bankrupt and they will not be able to pay the fine.

The fine, $110 million USD, was ordered two days ago by a judge, following a high profile case brought forth by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

Because the site refused to turn over any internal documents the judge also ruled that the site can never go online again.

According to attorney Ira Rothken the owners of TorrentSpy have filed for bankruptcy protection in England "and have no appreciable assets."

"This was a Hollywood publicity stunt," Rothken added.

While the site is set to appeal the ruling, the MPAA says it is still going to go after the cash and hopes the ruling will serve as a reminder that they are still on the prowl.

Permalink to this article | Topic: Lawsuits & Legislation

TorrentSpy set to appeal MPAA lawsuit (5 February 2009)

MPAA wins case against ShowStash and Cinematube (24 May 2008)

MPAA awarded $110 million in TorrentSpy suit (8 May 2008)

TorrentSpy shut down (27 March 2008)

BitTorrent site traffic sees impressive growth (22 March 2008)

Judge rules against TorrentSpy (20 December 2007)

MPAA hacker comes clean in interview (22 October 2007)

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Discuss this article!
pitbull07 (Newbie) 10 May 2008 18:56
RIP Torrentspy Before all the ads it was the best... [ + quote]
domie (Member) 10 May 2008 20:22
They are still going to go after the cash ? just exactly how are they going to go after nothing ? and just how is a multi-million dollar civil court settlement from Hollywoodland going to have any effect on residents of the UK ? Everyone knows that in the states you can sue somebody for 10 million dollars if they dare to ask you the time of day in the street due to the mental stress and anguish caused by asking such an outrageous question and we Brits just piss ourselves laughing at the absurdity of it all. If the owners of the site are internet savvy 17 and 18 year olds like most p2p site owners then I somehow doubt the Media Mafia will get their hands on anything unless they can force them to sell their top trumps card collections on ebay. [ + quote]
faqman98 (Senior Member) 10 May 2008 20:24
for those looking for an alternative, removed is pretty good [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 11 May 2008 17:28
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 10 May 2008 21:01
Well if they are bankrupt and can not afford to pay the fine. Does this mean jail time for the creaters of torrentspy? Well i guess the only people that are going to be smilling about this will be the lawyers on both sides. [ + quote]
cousinkix (Newbie) 11 May 2008 0:18
*Quote:* how is a multi-million dollar civil court settlement from Hollywoodland going to have any effect on residents of the UK? Are you suggesting that King George might invade merry old England next? You might have a big problem if you rippied off your own record companies like APPLE Corps, EMI and Virgin. In that case Scotland Yard will take care of business their own way... [ + quote]
iluvendo (AfterDawn Addict) 11 May 2008 0:36
Gotta admit, poverty ( I mean bankruptcy) is one heck of a defense. Even when you lose. [ + quote]
domie (Member) 11 May 2008 7:04
*Quote:* *Quote:* how is a multi-million dollar civil court settlement from Hollywoodland going to have any effect on residents of the UK? Are you suggesting that King George might invade merry old England next? You might have a big problem if you rippied off your own record companies like APPLE Corps, EMI and Virgin. In that case Scotland Yard will take care of business their own way... sorry but I don't understand your point - ermm King George was an Engish King, why would he invade merry old england ? - and we are talking about a judgement in an american court over a UK citizen who lives in England. Of course they would be in trouble if the case was brought to the attention of the UK authorities but it wasn't. so what are you saying ? i'm confused :) [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 11 May 2008 17:19
*Quote:* *Quote:* *Quote:* how is a multi-million dollar civil court settlement from Hollywoodland going to have any effect on residents of the UK? Are you suggesting that King George might invade merry old England next? You might have a big problem if you rippied off your own record companies like APPLE Corps, EMI and Virgin. In that case Scotland Yard will take care of business their own way... sorry but I don't understand your point - ermm King George was an Engish King, why would he invade merry old england ? - and we are talking about a judgement in an american court over a UK citizen who lives in England. Of course they would be in trouble if the case was brought to the attention of the UK authorities but it wasn't. so what are you saying ? i'm confused :) Mate i think our friends refreence to king George was about George W. Bush not the old english king :) [ + quote]
SamNz (Newbie) 12 May 2008 5:43
LOLZ anybody. [ + quote]
rlessmue (Junior Member) 12 May 2008 13:45
...so no problem. New site "TorrentSpy2.com" ...if that doesn't work out, next site "TorrentSpy3.com"... etc., etc. (problem solved)!! Cheers! [ + quote]
Zeos (Newbie) 25 May 2008 13:49
Yeah.. All that T-Shirt money is theirs. [ + quote]