Dane distributing instructions for Popcorn Time users went on trial

A man from Denmark was sentenced to six months of house arrest. His fault lies in the dissemination of information about Popcorn Time - a program that aggregates data from hundreds of torrent trackers. Users can find in the system almost any movie uploaded to torrents from the database, and immediately watch it. The program interface is as friendly as possible - no problems even for children.

From the moment the original service appeared, several clones appeared at once. The problem is that the copyright holders found the authors of the original authors, and they chose to discontinue the development of anything related to Popcorn Time. Nevertheless, numerous followers continued their work, thanks to whom the service and program still live.

But the police are struggling with them, and not only one country. In August 2015, the Danish police announced that they had managed to arrest a man who said that he was the operator of a site related to Popcorn Times. Namely - the resource Popcorntime.dk, which was immediately closed, and its domain name was ceded to the state. After that, an investigation began, in which this domain also appeared.

“As part of the investigation, the prosecutor demanded that the court transfer the rights to the domain to the state. This was done, “- says in the description of the court case. One would think that we are talking about a resource through which illegal content is distributed - a torrent tracker or file sharing service, or something else. But no, in fact, it's not at all like that.

Popcorntime.dk is an informational site where articles are located on how Popcorn Time can be used without the threat of de-anonymization. Plus, the usual advice on the use of the program - nothing so terrible.

For the first time PopcornTime.dk appeared in 2015. It should be noted that on this resource there are no links to download the program itself. But there are links to other sites where software can be downloaded. However, severe justice turned its attention to this small site and punished its creator two and a half years after the creation of the resource.

The creator of the site, he is the administrator of the resource, 39 years old. Six months of his life he will spend under house arrest. Apparently, executors believe that after sitting at home, the man reformed and stop sympathizing with the pirates. Law enforcement officials argue that this is the first case in the region, and it can be considered indicative.


Popcorn Time Information Resource Interface from Denmark

“Never before has a person been punished for spreading information about streaming services. Justice has taken an important step in the fight against illegal streaming, most likely it will have consequences for the whole of Europe, ”said the head of the investigation. According to the police, the defendant was able to earn about $ 83,363 for several years of the existence of his resource. In addition to home imprisonment, a man will have to spend 120 hours in social work.

“The verdict of the court is a clear signal to all who distribute illegal pirated services. The film industry and other related industries lose billions every year, because pirates offer movies for free, ”said a representative of the Danish authorities.

Now, the defendant has two weeks to decide whether he will appeal, or he will prefer house arrest to legal proceedings.

The fight against Popcorn Time began almost immediately after the appearance of this service. Over time, clones appeared, but they were also closed. The main fighter in this area is the MRAA, an association that has managed to achieve the removal of the popular fork Popcorn Time. Interestingly, the MPAA team even fought with Butter, a service based on the Popcorn engine, which distributed free movies from independent directors, where there was not a single link to unlicensed content.

"There are many Forks Popcorn Time, and they are all 100% unlicensed and violate the law," - said at one time in a letter to the MPAA .

It is necessary to think that soon demonstrative lawsuits will be held in other countries. Copyright is becoming more and more merciless, and the attacks of the system all the more severe.