Shit just got real in the War on Piracy with a US District Court judge handing out a year-long prison sentence to a New York resident for uploading a single, terrible movie.
To be fair, Gilberto Sanchez did somehow get his hands on an unfinished copy of the film that hadn’t yet made it through post-production. He reportedly purchased it from an unknown street vendor in the Bronx and then uploaded it a month before it hit theatres, hence the stiff penalty.
“The federal prison sentence handed down in this case sends a strong message of deterrence to would-be Internet pirates,” US attorney Andre Birotte Jr told The Hollywood Reporter. “The Justice Department will pursue and prosecute persons who seek to steal the intellectual property of this nation.”
I can’t begin to explain how unfathomably bad his idea was. What did he get out of this? A year in the clink. What did the public get out of this? A shitty version of a shitty film. And what did the US Attorney’s office get out of this? Precedent. [Electronista]