FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 19, 2005
BitTorrent Facilitating Illegal File
Swapping of Star Wars On Day of Opening
Statement by MPAA President Dan Glickman
Washington, D.C. - - Responding to reporttoday that BitTorrent is already facilitating the illegal file sharing of the final Star Wars episode, Revenge of the Sithwhich opens in theaters today, Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) President and CEO Dan Glickman made the following statement:
“There is no better example of how theft dims the magic of the movies for everyone than this report today regarding BitTorrent providing users with illegal copies of Revenge of the Sith. The unfortunate fact is this type of theft happens on a regular basis on peer to peer networks all over the world.
“Fans have been lined up for days to see Revenge of the Sith. To preserve the quality of movies for fans like these and so many others, we must stop these Internet thieves from illegally trading valuable copyrighted materials on-line.
“If piracy and those who profit from it are allowed to flourish, they will erode an engine of economic growth and job creation; undermine legitimate businesses that strive to unite technology and content in innovative and legal ways and limit quality and consumer choice.”
Glickman said that the average movie costs $98 million to make and market. < than>e in < domestic box the investment and < recoup never ten>
. The average BitTorrent network has up to 2.5 million users a day. The movie industry is the only industry with a positive balance of trade < does it which with countries>. Copyrighted industries are responsible for an estimated $626 billion of the total gross domestic product.“My message to illegal file swappers everywhere is plain and simple: You are stealing, it is wrong and you are not anonymous,” said Glickman. “In short, you can click, but you can The Motion Picture Association is engaged in an all out effort to root out Internet movie thieves and make them pay the consequences of illegally downloading and swapping movies< anti-piracy of , the MPAA< its>ember companies have brought lawsuits against many Internet movie thieves across the United States and plan to continue such action. About the MPAA: The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. These members include: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.; Paramount Pictures; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal Studios from Universal City Studios; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. # # # MPAA Los Angeles MPAA Washington, DC
Kori Bernards
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