http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20051122/1026120.asp
City man accused of illegal download
By STEPHEN T. WATSON
News Staff Reporter
11/22/2005
The organization that represents major U.S. film studios has sued a Buffalo man and four other New Yorkers for illegally downloading movies from the Internet.
The Motion Picture Association of America filed the suits as part of a broad campaign to crack down on the increasingly popular practice of downloading and sharing copies of films online.
“We think it’s important that we as an industry send the message that illegally downloading copyrighted materials has consequences,” said Gayle Osterberg, an association spokeswoman in Washington, D.C.
A suit filed Nov. 10 in federal court in Buffalo accuses Angelo R. Baldi, a Linwood Avenue resident, of violating copyright law by downloading “The Grudge.” The association filed suit on behalf of Columbia Pictures, which produced the horror film. Baldi declined to comment, referring questions to a lawyer who could not be reached Monday afternoon. The association also sued a Rochester resident and three New York City residents.
The suits accuse the defendants of using a peer-to-peer, file-sharing system to download the copyrighted movies. Everyone using such a program has access to everyone else’s files.
The association cannot put a precise value on the amount of money film studios lose due to movie downloading but estimates it is close to the $3 billion lost because of movie piracy.
The movie industry works through Internet service providers to identify downloaders and persuade them to delete any movie files and stop further downloading.
The University at Buffalo has received cease-and-desist letters from the association on behalf of students and staff caught downloading files, said Harvey S. Axlerod, UB’s computer discipline officer.
Those students are required to take an online course that emphasizes respecting copyrights and includes a test on the material.
