Charge Filed in Posting of Oscar Candidates on Web

A man arrested on suspicion of helping to illegally post on the Internet films that are being considered for Oscars was formally charged Friday with violating Hollywood studios’ copyrights.

FBI agents arrested Russell Sprague on Thursday at his suburban Chicago home. He appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin C. Ashman.

This is the first time anyone has been arrested in the alleged pirating of so-called screener copies of films supplied in advance to Academy Award voters, the FBI said.

However, this is not the first time Sprague has been under investigation for allegedly pirating films. The Motion Picture Assn. of America said it was first alerted that Sprague possessed illegally copied videos in 1979. In 1981, the FBI searched his home and seized 1,100 pirated videocassettes and seven VCRs, and in 1988, agents searched his home again and seized 700 tapes. Sprague was never prosecuted.

In a telephone interview from Chicago, Sprague maintained his innocence, describing himself as a movie buff with an extensive film collection.

“I did nothing wrong,” he said from his home in Homewood, Ill. “I never made any money. Not a dime.”

He confirmed the FBI’s previous searches. As to the current case, Sprague said he doesn’t know how the movies ended up on the Internet.

“I have zero idea how that happened,” he said.

The MPAA last year banned the distribution of screener DVDs and videotapes over concerns about bootlegging, but it partly lifted the ban after complaints from filmmakers, producers and production firms.

The judge set bond at $25,000 for Sprague, 51, and scheduled for Monday a hearing on a move by prosecutors to send him to Los Angeles for trial.

As he left the courthouse, Sprague said, “No one should make money on someone else’s copyrighted work -- I agree with that philosophy.”

Associated Press was used in compiling this report.