14 DAY TRIAL // Hotfile agreed to shell out $80 million / €58.9 million to settle a copyright infringement lawsuit that the MPAA filed against the site.
Considering that the fine for each of the 3,448 titles that they were accused of pirating could vary between $750 / €552 and $150,000 / €110,400, which puts the minimum fine at $2.6 million / €1.9 million and the maximum fine at $517 million / €380 million, Hotfile seems to have made a good deal, having to pay a lot less than what the MPAA was hoping to get, which was about a quarter billion dollars.
“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,” said Chris Dodd, MPAA chairman and CEO.
The case against Hotfile started in 2011 and has since gone through a series of stages. For instance, originally, there were over 3,800 movies on the list of content that users of the site infringed copyright of. Following an agreement between the two parties, the number was lowered to 3,448.
Among the movie titles included in the trial there’s “Bambi,” “The Matrix” and “The Karate Kid,” as well as TV series such as “Prison Break,” “Friends,” “Fringe,” “Lost,” “Heroes” and “Glee,” to name just a few.
Hotfile is one of the world’s most popular cyberlockers, offering users digital file storage space and letting them swap files. Usually, such sites are actually protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which provides safe harbor to online services as long as they obey some rules.
Back in August, however, a judge ruled that Hotfile lost its DMCA safe harbor, which means that it had to face charges in court.