Studios win $111 million judgment against TorrentSpy

Story Published: May 8, 2008 at 8:27 AM PDT

By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The six major Hollywood studios have won a $111 million judgment for copyright infringement against the shut-down file-sharing Web site TorrentSpy.com.

The judgment, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, fined the operators of the Web site, Valence Media LLC, $30,000 per violation for nearly 3,700 illegal movie and TV show downloads.

The Motion Picture Association of America said the judgment sends a strong message to copyright violators.

The site shut down in March, saying the legal climate was too hostile to continue.

Its lawyers filed a document in court Monday saying Valence had sought bankruptcy protection in a United Kingdom court and requesting that the judgment be stayed.

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