Australian man fined for pirating 'The Simpsons Movie' on the Internet

A man from Sydney who uploaded the first known pirated copy of "The Simpsons Movie" on the Internet after recording it on his cell phone was fined 1,000 Australian dollars (US$888; EUR609) by a magistrate Tuesday for breaching copyright.

Photo: Australian man fined for pirating 'The Simpsons Movie' on the Internet

Jose Duarte, 21, was raided by police in August after an international operation involving the movie's owner Fox tracked the copied blockbuster movie to his Sydney home.

Duarte pleaded guilty in a Sydney Magistrates Court Tuesday to a charge of distributing copyright material and was fined by Magistrate Pat O'Shane A$1,000 (US$888; EUR609).

His lawyer, Ken Stewart, told the magistrate Duarte had twice tried to upload the film on to the Internet on July 26 and thought he had failed.

It was released in Australia on that date hours before it screened in most of the world.

"It would appear that this young man had the sophistication of a dead fish," Stewart said.

"I have sat and spent time with this young man ... and I am quite satisfied that he had no idea what he was doing," Stewart added.

Prosecutor Chuan Ng said the movie had been downloaded 3,213 times in the few hours it remained on the Internet.