Let’s get this out of the way: You have probably pirated a file at some point in your life. “But Austin,” you’re probably saying, “it was just one Good Charlotte song* back in middle school, and I really needed it for that mix CD to show Kathleen from biology class how I really felt.” Be that as it may, you and I are all damn dirty thieves because the internet is a vast cookie jar full of goodies, and the odds of screwing up and getting caught seem relatively low. Every once in a while, though, people do get caught. And when it happens, it’s usually pretty big news.
It looks like such a bust recently happened in the UK this week. The national Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit have arrested a 55-year-old Leicestershire man, and it appears that he may have been the most noteworthy WWE and UFC video uploader on the internet. TorrentFreak has the story:
According to police the man is “believed to be one of the internet’s biggest offenders” when it comes to uploading wrestling and mixed martial arts content to both peer-to-peer and user-generated content sites.
The man’s home was searched and several computers were seized. He was then taken to a local police station for questioning.
…PIPCU are throwing some big numbers around. The unit claims that the individual is responsible for uploading more than 3.2 terabytes of data, which is the equivalent of more than 3,000 videos.
Jim Langham, WWE Senior Vice President & Assistant General Counsel expressed thanks for PIPCU’s action this morning.
“WWE provides many options for our fans to watch our content lawfully – on television, pay-per-view, and digitally via YouTube and the WWE Network. We will continue to protect our intellectual property aggressively and combat piracy in any form,” Langham said.
UFC Chief Legal Officer Kirk Hendrick said that he hoped that this morning’s arrest would lead to a “significant decrease” in the unlawful online distribution of UFC events.
“We take online piracy very seriously and will continue to work with law enforcement officials around the world to prevent illegal sharing of UFC content,” Hendrick said.
The suspect is believed to be “Sir Paul,” a well-known name among torrent communities. So, everyone please be careful out there! I know the “I’m Not Paying For Roman Reigns” stance seems like a pretty noble hill to die on, but it’s not going to hold up in a court of law. In any case, just don’t upload 3,000 videos that you don’t own to a torrent site. That seems like common sense to me.
*”Dance Floor Anthem”
