Man Jailed For 33 Months For Pirating Fast And Furious

A computer programmer who filmed Fast & Furious
6 from the back of a cinema then uploaded it to the
internet has been jailed for 33 months.

The pirate copy of the film was downloaded 779,000
times, costing one of Hollywood's biggest film-
makers almost £2.5m.
Philip Danks, 25, from Walsall, West Midlands, was
the first person in the world to record and distribute
the film illegally after filming it on its release day on
May 17 last year.
A court heard a special 'webwatch' team - set up
by LA-based Universal Pictures because the film
was so valuable - spotted his copy spreading
across the internet.
He was caught when fraud investigators noticed
that his online tag 'Thecod3r' attached on the video
was identical to his profile on dating website Plenty
of Fish.
He was arrested at his home on May 23.
Two days later, he bragged on Facebook, "Seven
billion people and I was the first. F*** you Universal
Pictures."
On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to three charges of
distributing pirate copies of films and was jailed for
33 months.
The court heard that he made just £1,000 from
selling copies of the film for £1.50 - while the cost
to Universal was estimated at £2.3m.
Sentencing Recorder Keith Raynor said, "This was
bold, arrogant and cocksure offending.
"You approach to the film industry was made clear
in the posting you made on Facebook two days
after your arrest.
"I accept the personal profit was modest but the
real seriousness of this case is the loss caused to
the film industry as a whole."
Prosecuting on behalf of the Federation Against
Copyright Theft, Ari Alibhai said: "The film was
Universal Picture's most significant release of that
year with both the biggest production costs and
expected revenue.
"The estimated loss to the industry caused by the
defendant's actions is conservatively estimated at
£2.3m but he did not receive money from the online
distribution."
The court heard that although he made money from
selling versions of his copy via Facebook or by
personal delivery his real motive was "street cred."
Mr Alibhai added, "The first person with a pirated
version attracts much kudos. He wanted
recognition from the community."
Mr Christopher Loach, defending, said, "He has no
real qualifications and is not a man of means.
"He has no substantial assets of any sort and his
financial gain has been extremely limited but he was
obviously aware that it was a popular film that
would be of interest."
Following his arrest, Danks was freed on police bail
pending further inquires but continued to offer a
dozen films he had copied.
Danks kept people posted on the case through
Facebook - but while awaiting sentence he
conceded, "Not loking (sic) good"