MPA welcomes copyright infringement sentence
September 16, 2025
By Colin Mann
Trade body the Motion Picture Association (MPA) has welcomed the criminal sentencing of Steven R Hale to 21 months in federal prison by the US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee for criminal copyright infringement. Hale stole and sold pre-release DVDs and Blu-rays of major films.
The sentence follows Hale’s guilty plea in May 2025, when he admitted to stealing more than a thousand pre-release DVDs while employed at a DVD manufacturing and distribution facility. A digital copy of at least one stolen disc was illegally distributed online, resulting in millions of infringing copies and causing substantial losses. The government’s criminal investigation was initiated after a referral by antipiracy coalition the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).
The MPA says it is grateful to the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, the US Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Memphis Police Department for their strong enforcement in this case.
“Steven Hale’s actions caused enormous harm to copyright owners, the industry, and consumers alike,” said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer of the MPA. “This sentencing sends a clear message: copyright infringement is a serious crime with serious consequences. We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their strong work on this case, and we will continue working together to safeguard the creative economy.”
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