A big BitTorrent search engine, isoHunt, will soon be closing its doors, thanks to a settlement that has been reached between its owners and the major motion picture studios. In a press release today, the industry trade group the Motion Picture Association of America announced the terms of the settlement, which includes the shutdown of isoHunt by October 23rd.
The press release states that the MPAA have asked a court to enter a $110 million judgment against isoHunt and its owner Gary Fung. The group first filed a lawsuit against both the site and Fung in 2006, accusing both of encouraging others to engage in downloading pirated movie and television content. In 2009, Judge Stephen Wilson of the Central District of California ruled in favor of the MPAA, which was later affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in March of 2013. In the latter decision, the court ruled that isoHunt had taken "no steps to develop filtering tools or other mechanisms to diminish the infringing activity by those using his services."
Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the MPAA said today"s decision was a "major step forward in realizing the enormous potential of the Internet as a platform for legitimate commerce and innovation." So far, isoHunt and Fung have yet to comment on the settlement. isoHunt is considered the fourth largest BioTorrent site on the Internet with 44.2 million peers and 13.7 million active torrents. Alexa.com ranks isoHunt as the 426th most visited site on the Internet worldwide.
Source: MPAA | Image via isoHunt