ICA Seizes Domains, Assets of Alleged TV, Movie Pirates

TV Shows, Films Streamed Within Hours of Release

By John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 6/30/2010 5:45:00 PM

Washington -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Justice Department Wednesday launched anti-Internet protocol piracy initiative "Operation In Our Sites" with the seizure of nine domain names it says were offering films and TV shows online illegally, in the case of the films within hours of their release.

ICE and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York also seized assets from PayPal accounts, banks and advertising accounts, and searched residences in New York, New Jersey, Washington, and North Carolina.

Announcing the seizures on a Burbank, Calif., soundstage (The Walt Disney Studios) and flanked by members of the Motion Picture Association of America, ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton said that the sites had been run by people "who have no respect for creativity and innovation," according to a release from U.S. Immmigration and Customers Enforcement.

According to Customs, the sites seized were NinjaVideo.net, NinjaThis.net, tvshack,net, movies-links.TV, filespump.com, now-movies.com, planetmoviez.com, thepiratecity.org, and zml.com.

"The American motion picture and television industry is one of our nation's most valuable cultural and ecnomic resources," said Mike Robinson, chief of operations, content protection for MPAA. "We are grateful ICE, the Obama administration and the federal agencies that have made the protection of intellectual property for the United States."

The seizures follow the White House's June 22 unveiling of its first strategic plan for cracking down on intellectual property theft, including the pirating of TV shows, movies, and other online content.