US District Judge Margaret Morrow has ordered New York resident Gilberto Sanchez to serve one year in federal prison after he uploaded a copy of 20th Century Fox’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine to the internet.
The case, particularly stiff for a copyright infringement was handed down because Sanchez had uploaded a yet-to-be completed version of the film before the production team could offer a post-production copy.
Earlier in the year Sanchez agreed to plead guilty to one count of uploading a copyrighted work that was being prepared for commercial distribution. According to the movie pirate he purchased the movie from an unnamed person on the streets of the Bronx.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine was uploaded online nearly a full month before it premiered in theaters.
After the sentence was handed down US attorney Andre Birotte Jr noted:
“The federal prison sentence handed down in this case sends a strong message of deterrence to would-be Internet pirates.”
Birotte then added:
“The Justice Department will pursue and prosecute persons who seek to steal the intellectual property of this nation.”
Do you believe the sentence fits the crime or was judge Morrow simply attempting to make an example out of Sanchez to avoid further issues in the future?
