With millions of users, YTS is possibly the most visited torrent site. The site owes its popularity to the constant stream of pirated movies it makes available. For several years, this excluded titles from Millennium Media, Voltage Pictures, and other independent film companies, due to a settlement agreement with the site's operator. However, at some point, YTS decided to disobey this agreement.
Traditionally, when copyright holders go after pirate sites, their primary mission is to shut them down permanently.
This strategy has resulted in the disappearance of thousands of websites in the last two decades.
In some cases, these closings are easy and only require a cease and desist order to be sent to the owner's home address. In others, disputes can turn into protracted legal battles where judges or juries have the final say.
YTS Lawsuits and Settlements
As one of the most iconic hacking brands, YTS.mx has also been the subject of a lawsuit. In 2019, the popular torrent site and its operator were accused of facilitating massive copyright infringement in multiple US lawsuits brought by independent film companies including Millennium Media and Voltage Pictures.
While lawsuits against torrent sites are not new, these cases stood out for the way they were resolved. Rather than shut down the site, the film companies reached settlement agreements with the operator in 2020, which permitted the site to continue operating.
To survive, YTS had to hand over some user data, while promising to pay more than $1 million in damages for piracy, on paper. Also, the notorious torrent site has agreed to remove torrent links to content from movie companies and prevent them from being reuploaded.
This unprecedented deal caused quite a stir when YTS user data put to work in other lawsuits against file sharers and Internet providers. In a very pragmatic sense, the agreement was very important for the film companies. At least while it lasted.
YTS uploads 'banned' movies
Today, YTS is no longer restricted by the terms of the agreement. While older titles from Millennium Media and Voltage Pictures, like The Hitman's Bodyguard and The Expendables, aren't listed on the site yet, many newer releases are.
A simple search reveals that YTS distributes pirated copies of more recent movies, such as "Hitman's Bodyguard's Wife," "The Offer," "The Protege," "Shut In," and "Last Seen Alive."
The settlement agreement requires YTS to keep these movies off the site, but that didn't happen here. The filmmakers' lawyer, Kerry Culpepper, tells TorrentFreak that YTS complied with tracking takedowns in the past, but adds that recent requests were ineffective.
โIt is unfortunate and disappointing that YTS is not complying with the 2020 Hawaii lawsuits court order/permanent settlement requiring the removal of my clients' movies from the website. We will consider the next steps,โ says Culpepper.
It is not clear what these 'next steps' are. In any event, the filmmakers cannot rely on the Hawaiian court to enforce the settlement agreement, as the court's jurisdiction over the matter expired at the end of 2021.
The most likely option seems to be to reinvigorate the legal battle one way or another. However, it's doubtful that the filmmakers would be open to another deal, as there are some trust issues now.
