NinjaVideo
Encyclopedia
NinjaVideo was a website
created in February 2008 containing links to uploaded videos of TV shows, movies, and documentaries. Since June 30, 2010, the site has been unavailable, as a result of a multinational anti-piracy
effort led by the US
federal government
. At the centre of the takedown was the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) initiative, citing that they were, "targeting pirate Web sites run by people who have no respect for creativity and innovation". Federal search warrants were executed at servers in the United States and the Netherlands
. At the time of its seizure, the site was visited more than 6 million times a month.
of the sites reasonings for their actions. The manifesto was a transcription of a podcast released on the site early in the life of Ninjavideo. They claimed that inflated prices and evil movie studios are to blame. Below is a sample of the manifesto.
"You … YOU have done this. You … The studios with your inflated budgets and your ridiculous salaries. You have fed the mob
insignificant tidbits about celebrity antics in order for them to pay out their retirement funds in popcorn prices. But not all amongst this mob are sheep."
Originally optimistic that her actions were in a "gray area" of the law, the co-founder and public face of NinjaVideo, Hana Beshara, plead guilty to conspiracy and criminal copyright infringement on September 30, 2011. She has yet to be sentenced but faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for both counts. According to the government, Beshara has admitted to personally earning more than $200,000 from operating the site, and she has agreed to forfeit assets seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year.
Justin A. Dedemeko, another co-founder of NinjaVideo, has plead guilty to uploading content and profiting from the ad revenue that was accrue through the illegal activities of NinjaVideo. He has admitted to making $58,000 through the website and will be forced to pay this back in restitution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb 24, 2012 where he faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.
Two other individuals have plead guilty to charges stemming from the operations of this website. Joshua David Evans and Jeremy Lynn Andrew plead guilty in October 2011 to charges of one count of conspiracy and one count of criminal copyright infringement relating to the release of the movie Iron Man 2 and one count of conspiracy respectively.
Another "co-founder" of the website, Zoi Mertzanis of Greece, remains at large and a warrant is out for his arrest for his role as an active uploader of content on NinjaVideo.
A list of materials requested for any DMCA Takedown notices are also provided by the website in addition to an email address through which to make the complaint.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
created in February 2008 containing links to uploaded videos of TV shows, movies, and documentaries. Since June 30, 2010, the site has been unavailable, as a result of a multinational anti-piracy
Anti-piracy
Anti-piracy is a term used to describe countermeasures against maritime piracy but moreoften by some to describe the attempt to prevent copyright infringement, counterfeiting, and other violations of intellectual-property rights....
effort led by the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
. At the centre of the takedown was the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security...
(ICE) initiative, citing that they were, "targeting pirate Web sites run by people who have no respect for creativity and innovation". Federal search warrants were executed at servers in the United States and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. At the time of its seizure, the site was visited more than 6 million times a month.
Arrest and Manifesto
Upon the news of their arrest one of site admins printed a manifestoManifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
of the sites reasonings for their actions. The manifesto was a transcription of a podcast released on the site early in the life of Ninjavideo. They claimed that inflated prices and evil movie studios are to blame. Below is a sample of the manifesto.
"You … YOU have done this. You … The studios with your inflated budgets and your ridiculous salaries. You have fed the mob
MOB
Mob may refer to:* A crowd Mob may refer to:* A crowd Mob may refer to:* A crowd (of people, from Latin mobile vulgus "fickle commoners":*An angry mob; see Ochlocracy*A criminal gang*In American English, organized crime; slang for Mafia or American Mafia*Mobbing, human bullying behaviour...
insignificant tidbits about celebrity antics in order for them to pay out their retirement funds in popcorn prices. But not all amongst this mob are sheep."
Prosecution of NinjaVideo Founders
Co-founder of NinjaVideo, Matthew David Howard Smith (aka Dead1ne), plead guilty to criminal copyright infringement on September 25, 2011. Smith ran the site from 2008 until its shutdown in 2010. According to the government, Smith has admitted to signing ad deals that grossed $500,000 during that period, and he was personally responsible for designing many of the site's features.Originally optimistic that her actions were in a "gray area" of the law, the co-founder and public face of NinjaVideo, Hana Beshara, plead guilty to conspiracy and criminal copyright infringement on September 30, 2011. She has yet to be sentenced but faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for both counts. According to the government, Beshara has admitted to personally earning more than $200,000 from operating the site, and she has agreed to forfeit assets seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year.
Justin A. Dedemeko, another co-founder of NinjaVideo, has plead guilty to uploading content and profiting from the ad revenue that was accrue through the illegal activities of NinjaVideo. He has admitted to making $58,000 through the website and will be forced to pay this back in restitution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb 24, 2012 where he faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.
Two other individuals have plead guilty to charges stemming from the operations of this website. Joshua David Evans and Jeremy Lynn Andrew plead guilty in October 2011 to charges of one count of conspiracy and one count of criminal copyright infringement relating to the release of the movie Iron Man 2 and one count of conspiracy respectively.
Another "co-founder" of the website, Zoi Mertzanis of Greece, remains at large and a warrant is out for his arrest for his role as an active uploader of content on NinjaVideo.
Reemergence of NinjaVideo
As of November 22, 2011, NinjaVideo website has resumed operations under a different domain name (theninjavideo.net). The site boasts content similar to that which was previously available on the now seized domain of ninjavideo.net. A link on the website discusses its DMCA Policy as:A list of materials requested for any DMCA Takedown notices are also provided by the website in addition to an email address through which to make the complaint.
External links
- NinjaVideo's "mission statement", via its Facebook page