TorrentSpy Ordered To Pay $110 Million In Piracy CaseTorrentSpy Ordered To Pay $110 Million In Piracy Case

The Motion Picture Association of America has won a $110 million judgment and a permanent injunction against TorrentSpy for distribution of pirated video.

The MPAA announced its victory against TorrentSpy operator Valence Media on Wednesday. The TorrentSpy site shut down March 24.

"This substantial money judgment sends a strong message about the illegality of these sites," Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of the MPAA, said in a news announcement. "The demise of TorrentSpy is a clear victory for the studios and demonstrates that such pirate sites will not be allowed to continue to operate without facing relentless litigation by copyright holders."

The MPAA characterized the judgment and injunction, ordered by a Los Angeles federal judge, as significant and said the site infringed on copyrighted materials by offering thousands of movies and television shows. The judge ruled that Valence Media willfully induced copyright infringement and contributed to infringement.

Last year, the same court found TorrentSpy liable for copyright infringement. The company tried to argue that it never distributed copyrighted materials because it merely produced indexes that pointed users to other sites.

The MPAA said that the motion picture industry, including foreign and domestic producers, distributors, theaters, video stores, and pay-per-view operators, loses more than $18 billion annually as a result of movie theft. It attributes more than $7 billion in losses to illegal Internet distribution and $11 billion to illegal copying and bootlegging.