Felony Charges Filed in Piracy Probe

Federal prosecutors filed felony charges Friday against a Sherman Oaks man who allegedly sold a pirated DVD of “Big Fish” that had been copied from a “screener” videocassette sent to an Academy Awards voter.

William C. Philputt was charged with one count of criminal copyright infringement and one count of satellite signal programming theft. The charges carry maximum prison terms of five and three years, respectively.

An early-morning search Friday of Philputt’s Woodman Avenue apartment turned up what court papers describe as illegal copies of films including best picture Oscar nominee “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “Kill Bill: Vol. 1,” George Lucas’ “Star Wars Trilogy” and the HBO hit series “Sex and the City.”

The case marks the second time in recent weeks that a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been caught up in a federal crackdown on movie piracy. The Motion Picture Assn. of America says piracy costs Hollywood more than $3 billion a year.

This month, the academy’s board of governors expelled film and TV actor Carmine Caridi after a screener of the hit movie “Something’s Gotta Give” that had been sent to Caridi turned up for sale on the Internet.

Caridi was not charged with a crime, but federal authorities charged a friend of the actor, Russell William Sprague, with copyright infringement. Both men face civil suits.

The FBI launched its latest probe last week after an investigator working with Sony Pictures Entertainment purchased a pirated copy of the Tim Burton-directed “Big Fish” that had been posted for sale on an Internet bulletin board.

The DVD was traced to a VHS screener sent to actress Hanna Hertelendy, an academy member since 1963. Hertelendy’s credits include films such as “Being There” and “The Girl From Petrovka” and TV movies “Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story” and “Raid on Entebbe.”

Hertelendy, 84, who was not charged, said late Friday that she did not believe she had ever received the tape. The actress, who lives in the Fairfax district, said she did not know Philputt.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Christopher Johnson said investigators did not yet know how the screener allegedly came into Philputt’s possession.

Johnson said the FBI began investigating Philputt after Sony alerted authorities that an illegal copy of “Big Fish” had been purchased online for $20.

According to the search warrant affidavit, the account to which Sony’s anti-piracy investigator was instructed to send payment had deposits of $8,285.02 in February and nearly $24,000 since it was opened.

A forensic analysis of the DVD by Deluxe Media Management determined that security markings were identical to those embedded on the VHS tape sent to Hertelendy.

The affidavit noted that Hertelendy signed an agreement in October that she would not allow the screeners to be reproduced, distributed or taken outside her house or office.

Bruce Davis, executive director of the academy, said Friday that he had not seen the charges and had no immediate comment.

Johnson said the signal theft charge against Philputt involved the use of a satellite “unlooper,” a device that, when connected to a computer, allows a DirecTV access card to be illegally reprogrammed so that non-subscribers can gain access to pay-per-view movies.

Philputt is expected to surrender for arraignment March 22 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Johnson said.