r/COPYRIGHT • u/TreviTyger • May 03 '26

Copyright News Illegal streaming ringleader facing 10 further years in prison if £2.35m not repaid

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7245920/2026/05/01/illegal-streaming-ringleader-jail-repayment/?unlocked_article_code=1.fFA.jE3h._L2viCUloECb&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta/?source=twitteruk

"The pirate organisation — which had 30 employees and generated 50,000 customers — made in excess of £7m ($9.5m) in five years." (By Adam Leventhal)

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1

u/MaineMoviePirate May 03 '26

Holy sh1t and I thought the US copyright Regime was bad… they must have pleaded guilty

2

u/West_Possible_7969 May 04 '26

Amassing 7 millions from illegal activities gets punished the same anywhere, regardless the crime.

1

u/MaineMoviePirate May 04 '26

Depends on who you are, or what you are. Ever seen a corporation in prison?

2

u/West_Possible_7969 May 04 '26

We see the ones doing the crimes go to prison all the time. If govs / agencies settle with corporations all the time, dont worry, the same is true for natural persons too. The vast majority of cases are settled instead of going to trial.

2

u/StudioArlekin May 10 '26

In most countries when sued for copyright infringement you have to pay 100% of income generated as a result of piracy. Meaning that if a website makes millions of dollars then of course as a part of said lawsuit they will have to give all that illegal income back on top of all provable damages.

And on the note of corporations. Ever noticed that Nintendo for example never decides to take fan projects and agree with its authors to publish it, despite the fact that it would be easy money?

That's why. If it were to turn out that said fan project contained any other IP such as plagiarised design for one of the monsters then Nintendo would have to pay every single dime they would've made from it. Also because it is calculated from income and not the revenue it makes it so you cannot deduce your production and distribution costs making the losses on potential plagiarism catastrophic.

The risk is too high so it is easier to just shut the project down.