Often, sites hosting torrent files claim that they are not breaking any laws because they are not offering the actual data; rather, the sites only offer a link to other places or peers that contain the infringing material. However, many prosecution cases and convictions argue to the contrary. For instance, Dimitri Mader, the French national who operates a movie distribution warez site, Wawa-Mania, was fined 20,000 € and sentenced, in absentia, to a year in jail by a European court (after fleeing France for the Philippines), for his role in managing the site. In the U.S., through 2004, more than 80 individuals had been prosecuted and convicted for trade in warez products (under the NET Act and other statutes), for movie and software pirating in particular, with a number of individuals being imprisoned, including some enthusiast traders. See also, Goldman, Eric (2004-01-07), "Warez Trading and Criminal Copyright Infringement," Working Paper, see or .
Often, sites hosting torrent files claim that they are not breaking any laws because they are not offering the actual data; rather, the sites only offer a link to other places or peers that contain the infringing material. However many prosecution cases and convictions argue to the contrary. For instance, Dimitri Mader, the French national who operates a movie distribution warez site, Wawa-Mania, was fined 20,000 € and sentenced, in absentia to a year in jail by a European court (after fleeing France for the Philippines), for his role in managing the site. In the U.S., through 2004, more than 80 individuals had been prosecuted and convicted for trade in warez products (under the NET Act and other statutes), for movie and software pirating in particular, with a number of individuals being imprisoned, including some enthusiast traders. See also, Goldman, Eric (2004-01-07), "Warez Trading and Criminal Copyright Infringement," Working Paper, see or 