Illegal file-sharer gets slapped with $1.5 million in damages
The damages award against illegal file-sharer Kywan Fisher will most likely send him to the poor house. Illinois federal court Judge John Lee ordered Fisher to fork out $1.5 million to adult entertainment company Flava Works this week, according to TorrentFreak.
Flava Works sued Fisher for sharing 10 movies he'd previously paid for via BitTorrent. The damages award amount was reached by fining Fisher $150,000 per movie. This is the largest damages award ever ordered in a BitTorrent case.
Flava Works caught Fisher sharing its movies by tracing the illegal copies he was accused of sharing back to him using an encryption code inserted in the films he originally bought. "Defendant's conduct was willful to the extent that he copied or distributed Flava Works, Inc.' intellectual property at least 10 times and caused the videos to be infringed or downloaded at least 3,449 times," Flava Works wrote in a legal memo in support of damages.
