File-sharing site told to pay studios

The six major Hollywood studios have won a $111-million judgment for copyright infringement against shut-down file-sharing website TorrentSpy.com.

The judgment, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, charged the operator of the website, Valence Media, $30,000 per violation.

It applied to nearly 3,700 movie and TV show downloads.

The Motion Picture Assn. of America said the judgment sends a strong message to copyright violators.

The site shut itself down in March, saying the legal climate was too hostile to continue.

The site’s lawyers on Monday also filed a court paper saying Valence had sought bankruptcy protection in a British court and requested that the judgment be stayed.