Hulk Movie Pirate arrested

[Ares]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030625/law067_1.html

 

'Hulk' Pirate Guilty of Felony Copyright Infringement

Wednesday June 25, 3:06 pm ET

 

 

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- After learning that a version of its film, "The Hulk," had become available for illegal downloading on the Internet two weeks before its theatrical release, Universal initiated an immediate investigation and then referred the matter to the FBI. The Department of Justice took immediate action on the matter and today, Kerry Gonzalez, the individual who posted "The Hulk" on the Internet, pled guilty to felony copyright infringement; he faces a sentence of up to three years in federal prison.

 

We are deeply grateful to the FBI and the Department of Justice for their prompt action in finding and punishing the individual responsible for posting a version of 'The Hulk' on the Internet," said Karen Randall, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Vivendi UNIVERSAL Entertainment.

 

"This investigation proves decisively that the Internet is not an anonymous place, and illegal conduct is transparent and traceable. Universal Studios will pursue aggressively and hold accountable to the fullest extent of the law those who steal or abuse its intellectual property by illegally uploading or downloading it on the Internet."

 

Rick Finkelstein, President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Pictures, added, "It took almost two years to complete the 'The Hulk.' Given the extraordinary level of talent, significant cost and tireless effort that went into creating this outstanding entertainment experience, we believe 'The Hulk' and all of our films deserve to be enjoyed in their optimal form and environment. Unfortunately, there is a small group of people who feel it is acceptable to steal our copyrighted films and make them available for free. Obviously, if this behavior went unchecked, we would not be able to produce and deliver films of the caliber of 'The Hulk' to the movie going public at large. We owe it to our filmmakers and to the millions and millions of law abiding citizens who enjoy the movie-going experience week in and week out as one of their primary forms of entertainment to aggressively pursue those responsible for the theft of our property, and we intend to do just that."

 

Vivendi UNIVERSAL Entertainment is the U.S.-based film, television and recreation entity of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.

 

For further information please contact Susan N. Fleishman, +1-818-777-8063, or Cindy Gardner, +1-818-777-2581, both of Vivendi UNIVERSAL Entertainment.

 

 

 

 

[Mister_Comics]

Every time I go see a movie at the theater I always spot someone filming the movie with a camcorder. If this keeps up it won't be long before they will check everyone coming in to the show.

[fantastic_four]

Universal Studios will pursue aggressively and hold accountable to the fullest extent of the law those who steal or abuse its intellectual property by illegally uploading or downloading it on the Internet."

 

So they're gonna aggressively pursue the downloaders, eh? They gotten you yet, SHULEY?!!? Or any of the other pirates lurking around these forums?

[Kevin76]

nope not yet! let's hope they don't catch me

[ultimatevenom]

It is already available....in Pakistan

 

My friend got it shipped to England

 

It is in English aswell

 

Is that piracy aswell?

 

[HeroDreamer]

I know 75% of the staff at a movie theatre here in Virginia Beach. I was told that during the screening a few days before the release that there were security guards at the door to the theatre and six guards with nightvision goggles inside the theatre during the showing of the movie. The nightvision was to allow them to see if anyone was recording. I wasn't there to actually witness this but I don't really doubt it. I think it's pretty cool actually although it might be a little creepy in a dark theatre.

[Darthdiesel]

Every time I go see a movie at the theater I always spot someone filming the movie with a camcorder. If this keeps up it won't be long before they will check everyone coming in to the show.

 

It is the people who are supposed to be checking (ticket stub ripper and ushers) that are in on the scam. They are paid hush money or a cut of the bootlegger's profits. Next time, report the guy with the cam coreder, or go vigilante and do something to ruin his filming (throw soda on him/her) while going into some soapbox tirade about how they are ruining the film industry. New law enforced starting tomorrow cracking down on filesharing of music; if prosecuted, you can be fined up to $150K per song...

[Kevin76]

New law enforced starting tomorrow cracking down on filesharing of music; if prosecuted, you can be fined up to $150K per song...

 

What 15 year old living with mom and has this kind of cash becuase he wanted to listen to his favorite Metallica song?

[comicwiz]

So they're gonna aggressively pursue the downloaders, eh? They gotten you yet, SHULEY?!!? Or any of the other pirates lurking around these forums?

 

I have a contact at one of the studios involved with the post-production of many hollywood films, including the Hulk film. I asked for an official poster from the film, and when they sent it to me, they included a copy from the master on DVD as a surprise, knowing I'm a fan of comic books. Of course, theres the irritating "Property of Studio X" banner at the bottom of the screen for the entire movie, but after awhile you don't even notice it. There's also an advisory before the movie begins which pretty much yells screaming murder if you dupe the films and try to share or sell it. After reading these advisorys on several occassions, and knowing fully well that the contact went out on a limb to share it with me, I would never dream of doing anything stupid like copying the film and sharing it with anyone. I guess it comes down to how a situation like this is handled, and the problem of how wrong things can go for someone if it were to fall into the wrong hands. 3 years in a state penn sounds pretty harsh for a piracy issue, but I guess they need to clamp down on this, and make an example of the first person they catch.

[FlyingDonut]

Copyright infringement bad; Hulk smash!

 

By David Becker

Staff Writer, CNET News.com

June 25, 2003, 2:38 PM PT

 

Don't make a U.S. attorney angry--you wouldn't like him when he's angry.

A New Jersey man learned that the hard way Wednesday, and faces up to three years in prison and $250,000 in fine after pleading guilty to distributing a pirated copy of "The Hulk," the tale of wayward scientist who turns into a machinery-smashing monster whenever he gets mad.

 

Kerry Gonzalez of Hamilton, N.J., pled guilty to felony copyright infringement charges in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office.

 

About two weeks before the movie's public premier on June 20, Gonzalez obtained a videotape of an advance "work print" of the movie from a friend who worked at an advertising agency connected with the film, according to the complaint filed by U.S. Attorney James Comey. Gonzalez copied the movie to his home computer and used software tools to defeat security protections embedded in the movie to prevent unauthorized duplication.

 

Gonzalez had a satisfactory digital copy by June 6, according to the complaint, and began sharing it with fellow film buffs who frequented an Internet chat room devoted to bootleg movies.

 

Bootleg copies of major films, such as "The Matrix Reloaded," often begin circulating on the Internet before the movie hits theaters.

 

Gonzalez was identified as a result of an investigation by the FBI's Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Squad, according to the statement. He will by sentenced Sept. 26 and faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

 

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, an advocate of increased federal intervention in copyright issues, hailed the investigation.

 

"While 'The Hulk' is a comic book hero known to millions, copyright pirates practice their illegal trade in relative anonymity," he said in a statement. "Today, the FBI brought the face of copyright piracy public, and for that they are to be commended."

 

[OldGuy]

Of course, theres the irritating "Property of Studio X" banner at the bottom of the screen for the entire movie

 

I can fix that.

[comicwiz]

I can fix that.

 

ok

 

now you've aroused my curiosity... how exactly would you do this?

[OldGuy]

I can fix that.

 

ok

 

now you've aroused my curiosity... how exactly would you do this?

 

I'm going to have to plead the 5th on this. In general terms though, there are very powerful DVD riping/editing programs that enable the removal of this type of "water mark". The water mark you're talking about isn't part of the film, it's a feature that runs "on top of" the movie and can be disabled/removed.

 

DVD encoding/decoding is very time consuming and it would take the better part of 20-24 processor hours.

[Darthdiesel]

New law enforced starting tomorrow cracking down on filesharing of music; if prosecuted, you can be fined up to $150K per song...

 

What 15 year old living with mom and has this kind of cash becuase he wanted to listen to his favorite Metallica song?

 

Wait til they go after their comic books as payment! Hooray for gov't regulation! all about job security...

[comicwiz]

I'm going to have to plead the 5th on this. In general terms though, there are very powerful DVD riping/editing programs that enable the removal of this type of "water mark".

 

 

I've tried it all OldGuy. I've actually even developed a module to speed up the process of ripping (I invented a neat module for 3D rendering -- which takes a zillion hours sometimes -- and with some minor tweaking, was able to speed up the process of ripping digital video), but not even the best rip kits can lift these watermarks. We are talking some of the latest encryption methods for digital video disc.