Exhuming the lede: 48 year old Gilberto Sanchez will find out in September how long his unfortunate ass will sit in prison, and how many gazillions of dollars for which Fox will hold him accountable after leaking a pirated copy of a work-in-progress Wolverine print.
…so it probably says something about me that I’ve never been in a real fight in my life (sorry Tyler Durden). It probably says even more about me that the closest I’ve ever come to being in one was because of a piracy argument started because of the leaked Wolverine work-print. I guess people have kicked the shit out of each other over much dumber things like religion and politics, so that doesn’t bother me all that much.
Just the same, it’s amazing the logical hoops some will jump through and the rationalizing gymnastics many will complete to find some ass-backwards way of justifying theft in the name of cheapness and laziness. My favorite have always been the faux-crusaders who claim they’re doing something good for an industry by snatching content from file-sharing services, or the ones (including my would-be sparring partner) who felt that you can’t steal something if it’s just copying 1s and 0s. Maybe those are the worst– the ones too dumb to wrap their brains around the concepts of fraud and theft that don’t involve something tangible.
I don’t what kind of pirate Gilberto Sanchez was, but I suspect he’s just a silly guy (a glass installer and musician by-day apparently) who realized he had something unique and special when he bought a pirated copy of Wolverine from a street vendor in NY. He probably didn’t put a lot of thought into things before he uploaded the copy to the internet and started spreading it around movie message boards- probably not a lot of bullshit philosophical manifestos about intellectual property in his head. Just another guy shouting “first” and feeling special on the internet, except the stakes were in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, with the federal government and one of the biggest studios in the world intimately involved. Hosting a pirated movie is one thing, hosting a one-of-a-kind, pirated copy of movie months from releases make you a big red target- one who can’t hide amongst hundreds of thousands of similarly anonymous pirates.
Fox still hasn’t coughed up the name of the Post-Production house that leaked the print in the first place, so whoever stole the film from the facility originally remains unknown (publicly- undoubtedly the studios know). For his part though, Sanchez could get three years and face a fine anywhere from $250k to whatever Fox figures the damages to be. All for ripping a DVD and tossing it on MegaUpload.
All I can say is that this guy is dumb, and with so much tragedy happening in the world I’ve got not even an ounce of sympathy left over for him. I don’t believe he should have his life ruined over one dumb night of uploading, but a max of three years sounds surprisingly low, considering the music industry and the RIAA’s history of trying to have folks executed while attempting to levy fines that exceed the total GDP of the entire planet onto a single person. This is what happens when you leave the gray playground created by the digital pains of an industry’s changing business model, and enter into real-life, out-and-out theft. Never before has that line been so easy to trip over.
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19 comments
I think the movie and music industries really make the situation worse with the over-the-top damages they seek in many of these cases. I agree that the potential punishment this case is comparatively mild considering other lawsuits. But by pursuing ludicrous damages cases (and basing damages off of unreliable numbers in the first place), the entertainment industry may be helping to cement this whole piracy-is-justified mentality in the minds of jerkwads. Let me be clear, piracy isn’t justifiable. If you’re not willing to pay to see a film (no matter what format the viewing or payment may involve), you don’t see the movie. But at the same time, I’d like to see the ridiculous lawsuits settle down a bit.
I hope this guy becomes a matyr. I hope people copy him. Fuck the studios for making crap, they deserve this.
Exactly. Sorry, Renn, but downloading movies isn’t theft. It’s copyright infringement, which is a matter for the civil courts, not criminal courts. That the entertainment industry has successfully skewed the language towards emotive words like “piracy” and “theft” is a PR victory but nothing more. They’ve used their corporate muscle to ensure that you’d probably get a lighter sentence for punching that guy than he would for downloading Wolverine. That’s fucked up. Doesn’t mean that downloading movies is right or that the people who do it aren’t greedy little cunts, but clarity of language is everything in law and the hysteria over file sharing – of which your post if a part – is not helpful.
Must suck going to prison for pirating a HORRIBLE movie.
It’s not fucked up at all. Being the original leak of a film long before release and potentially costing a company millions of dollars is a bigger deal than punching a guy in the face. It’s also a much bigger deal than just watching the damn thing for free later because you’re lazy.
And touche, “Copyright Infringement” is certainly the correct term. The implications of the act don’t change with what word you use though.
He wasn’t the original leak, Renn. By your own admission -and in the language contained in your well-written article, you’ve stated that the print originated from a post house initially. As dimwitted as the guy who uploaded it may be, the real criminal here is the person who had to have violated non-disclosure agreements and commited legitimate felony theft to get the copy of the film (which I still haven’t seen) into the public’s hands. Guess the studios aren’t interested in punishing one of their own.
On top of that, I’ve long believed that Fox leaked the print themselves, knowing they had a dog of a film on their hands – so that, if it tanked, they could blame piracy instead of the quality of the film, and create a lightning rod in the legal system for which to base a new round of legislation.
Good point. Why aren’t Fox going after the guy who leaked it? Why is this person who works in a production company still mysteriously unknown, but the guy in the street gets the book thrown at him? Renn stop being a douchenozzle. You sound like a fucking studio lackey. Grow some backbone why don’t why. Wanker.
I don’t understand why anyone would watch Wolverine, without Fox paying them in the first place. I wouldn’t watch that film for free, let alone spend money on it.
Great article, Renn.
I have to agree. Yes, the uploader should enjoy some prison time or at least a big fine, but the original thief should probably take the majority of the punishment. My random guess is that Fox knows where the print came from, but the post-studio doesn’t know who leaked it. If that’s the case, Fox can’t do much other than claim a breach of contract since they wouldn’t be able to prove whether an employee or random cleaning guy stole the original. So, they’re going after the first accountable asshole in the chain.
Very good point. Renn’s article, while well written, is missing the bigger picture. The studios are more interested in scaring the public out of piracy, than actually punishing the person or persons or company responsible for the whole mess to begin with. It reeks of elitism.
Yeah, but dude- you watch Pro Wrestling.
😉
This is going to curb the problem as much as throwing a pot dealer in jail for thirty years.
A fake crime against a fake movie that cost a fake movie studio millions of dollars (supposedly). So stupid. Either go after the post house that really leaked it or shut the fuck up Fox. Oh wait but they probably have lawyers and Fox just wanted an easy win for PR purposes. Fake dog shit, get it out of my face, bye. Eat a dick Tom Roth.
So you genuinely believe that a civil matter involving damages that can only be estimated is more serious than an actual crime of violence? Sorry but, yeah, that is fucked up.
And the words we use are absolutely important, especially in legal matters. “Eh, manslaughter, murder – it’s the same thing”. Doesn’t really work, does it? The minute you admit that you’re deliberately using emotive language to make your point, just because “theft” sounds more serious than “copyright infringement” and therefore more deserving of stupidly draconian sentences, you’ve lost the argument.
Fox should absolutely be allowed to sue this guy and try to win whatever damages they require, but the idea that putting a movie on the internet warrants a custodial criminal sentence is fucking idiotic.
He’ll be a king in prison. All those cons will be thanking him for saving them wasting 15 bucks on a giant corn-filled turd.
But he shouldn’t go to prison (the original leaker/contract breaker likely should as it looks like it did go into the hands of a street pirating operation). Community service is as tough as it should be. If you think what he did was worse than physical violence then you’re just beyond an absolute cunt Renn.
I’ll be that cunt then. I’m capable of weighing his actions and their implications against a pop in the face from whatever silly, irrelevant scenario we’re still alluding to from a dozen comments ago.
I’ve got no desire to see this guy thrown away forever, but the idea that he would ever get just community service is ludicrous. Unless you’re exceptionally lucky, you don’t get off as easy as community service for snatching a DVD from fucking Wal-Mart, much less being the ONLINE point of origin for the highest-profile leak to yet occur.
I never said the guy deserves a harsher sentence than what he could potentially get, and I CERTAINLY never said he should get worse than what the post-house thief deserves. All the same- this guy made himself the enabler of millions of instances of copyright infringement, all because he couldn’t take a moment to consider the implications of what he did beyond his own laptop screen. Again, I have no outright desire to see this guy rot in prison for years or have his life ruined, but he’s NOT GOING TO. There are causes, people, and places that deserve much more of our collective sympathetic energy.
Good work Renn! Shithead deserves what’s coming to him. Just like Devin said, stop pirating dickheads!
You make a well presented argument, Mr. Brown. We rationalise and argue back and forth over something (theft by any definition) we’d be ready to club someone over if visited on us. We spit vile and violent language in anonymity, splitting hairs rather than take responsibility. If you think what this momo did isn’t a crime, get involved with your legislature to CHANGE THE CRIMINAL CODE. It’s possible, it’s been done, is being done across the country. But that involves getting out of your office chair and sacrificing ‘me’ time. Think theft is okey dokey? Stop locking up your shit.
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