A few years prior, unauthorized copies of the movie ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ on Blu-ray started to appear on illegal downloading platforms, just weeks before the official premier was set to occur. Just before this, an eBay auction had surfaced, that advertised original copies of the film prior to its release, pointing to the possibility of an individual securing multiple of these pre-release versions of the film. The origin of these copies and the circumstances surrounding their acquisition remained a mystery. The curtain of this mystery was partially lifted earlier this year, when the individual responsible was indicted by the United States Department of Justice.
Post an exhaustive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the perpetrator, 37-year-old Steven Hale, was officially accused. He allegedly stole various DVD and Blu-ray copies from the company he was previously employed at, a Memphis-based institution specializing in disc manufacturing and distribution. In the month of May, Hale confessed to illegally obtaining and disseminating numerous DVD and Blu-ray copies for personal financial benefit and business interests. Paramount among these violations was the pre-release ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ along with other films such as ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’, ‘Encanto’, and ‘The Matrix Resurrections.’
Alongside the charge of copyright infringement, Hale also faced accusations related to firearms. Upon raiding his residence, officials discovered a firearm in a vehicle that was registered under Hale’s name. Possession of such a weapon, for someone with a criminal past, is considered a separate felony. The defense countered these charges by asserting that the firearm, found fully loaded, actually belonged to Hale’s father, not Hale himself.
Despite the simultaneous discovery, Hale’s attorney further argued that the firearm had merely been located there by pure chance and was not intended to assist in the copyright infringement. While the government agreed with this aspect—that the discovery of the firearm and the theft of the DVDs and Blu-rays shared no obvious link, it did not necessarily promise a more lenient sentence for Hale.
During this week, the U.S. Department of Justice made public its recommendations on Hale’s sentencing. In their court filing, the DOJ highlighted that this wasn’t Hale’s first brush with the law. His criminal history included offenses such as armed robbery, attempted theft, and driving with a revoked license, along with current charges pending for drugs and firearms, according to the DOJ.
The filing also provided an insight into Hale’s systematic approach to stealing films. It noted his slick tactics of placing boxes filled with DVDs near a faulty emergency exit, expertly cutting the protective tape, and moving the boxes to his car post working hours to dodge surveillance.
Although the government agrees that the firearm was not directly involved in the copyright infringement, it considers the firearm possession and copyright infringement incidents as separate crimes. ‘In this instance, no evidence suggests that the defendant utilized or had a firearm in order to purloin DVDs from his employer or commit copyright infringement’, noted the recommendation.
But this acknowledgment does not bring good news for Hale, as the DOJ asserts that these two crimes should be considered separate from each other, challenging the idea proposed in the pre-sentencing report. Instead, the DOJ encourages distinct sentences for the two crimes, with both to be carried out at the same time. Based on this, the government suggests a 57-month prison sentence for the firearm charge, which falls within their 57- to 71-month sentencing guideline. This is more severe than the 21-month sentence proposed for the copyright infringement.
If the court agrees to these recommendations, Hale would serve the more extended sentence attached to the firearm-related charge. The defense, however, had earlier in the month argued for a more lenient sentence. They insisted that the firearm found had no relation to the stolen DVDs, putting forth arguments to further lower the proposed sentence, to a more reasonable 37 to 46 months.
The defense, highlighting mitigating circumstances, contended that as the firearm was not Hale’s but found just by ‘coincidence’, the lesser sentence would be justified. Additionally, they disputed the classification of Hale’s previous attempted robbery as a ‘violent crime’. In a plea for mercy, Hale’s attorney painted a portrait of a man making a ‘very bad decision’ on the back of enduring hardship throughout his life. Despite his impoverished upbringing, Hale possessed a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Management.
The court in Tennessee is now expected to deliver Hale’s sentencing in the coming weeks. To add, the MPA (Motion Picture Association) has requested to contribute to the arguments before the sentencing. Representing the victims in this case, the MPA expressed a desire to give their viewpoint to the court during the sentencing process.
In an official statement on this case, the MPA claimed substantial financial damage inflicted by Hale’s actions. MPA’s Larissa Knapp highlighted that probable monetary losses amount to ‘tens of millions of dollars’, taking note of instances where the Spider-Man movie was illegally downloaded millions of times prior to its official release.
As the MPA zeroes in on the extensive financial damage caused by the copyright violations, the court’s final decision may pivot on a ‘coincidental’ firearm offense, which both parties concur has no connection to the primary charges.
The post Illegal Copies of Spider-Man Movie Lead to Memphis Man’s Indictment appeared first on Real News Now.
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