gonzo
06-02-2007, 06:03 PM
LOS ANGELES - Federal authorities have charged a Chicago man with copyright violations for allegedly uploading several episodes of Fox's "24" on the Internet before the show's season premiere earlier this year.
Jorge Romero, 24, used a Web site to download the first four episodes of the sixth season of "24" and then uploaded them to LiveDigital.com, according to a federal complaint filed in Los Angeles on Friday.
The episodes appeared online more than a week before their television debuts on Jan. 14 and 15.
Romero was charged with one felony count of uploading copyrighted material to a publicly accessible computer network knowing the work was intended for commercial distribution.
He has agreed to surrender at the US District Courthouse in Chicago on Tuesday, when arrangements will be made for his travel to Los Angeles, Department of Justice Spokesman Thom Mrozek said.
It was not immediately known whether Romero had retained an attorney. E-mails and phone calls to addresses listed in court documents as Romero's were not immediately returned.
If convicted, Romero faces a maximum of three years in prison.
Jorge Romero, 24, used a Web site to download the first four episodes of the sixth season of "24" and then uploaded them to LiveDigital.com, according to a federal complaint filed in Los Angeles on Friday.
The episodes appeared online more than a week before their television debuts on Jan. 14 and 15.
Romero was charged with one felony count of uploading copyrighted material to a publicly accessible computer network knowing the work was intended for commercial distribution.
He has agreed to surrender at the US District Courthouse in Chicago on Tuesday, when arrangements will be made for his travel to Los Angeles, Department of Justice Spokesman Thom Mrozek said.
It was not immediately known whether Romero had retained an attorney. E-mails and phone calls to addresses listed in court documents as Romero's were not immediately returned.
If convicted, Romero faces a maximum of three years in prison.