During a court hearing scheduled for tomorrow, a private torrent site user is expected to admit that he shared around 40 movies in breach of copyright. The case is special. Not only is this a criminal prosecution carrying a possible prison sentence, it will also pave the way for similar action against an undisclosed number of pirates.

The vast majority of BitTorrent users prefer ‘public’ torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay. There are no barriers to entry and no rules to follow. It’s quick and convenient.

Private torrent sites work on a membership basis, with an invitation required for entry. Once admitted, users must keep their accounts in good standing, which usually means balancing whatever they download with comparable uploads.

Rules differ depending on the site, but the general theme is that people can download whatever they like, as long as they share back with the community. This can mean that they’re sharing many movies or TV shows at any one time, and that makes them a more interesting target.

The rest of this article can be read on TorrentFreak.com

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