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LATEST: Seven people have admitted piracy charges after copying and sharing a DVD copy of STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH before it was released in cinemas last year (MAY05).

The six American men and one woman face a maximum $100,000 (GBP56,000) fine and one year in jail for allowing an eighth individual to upload the film onto the Internet.

ALBERT VALENTE, 28, swiped a copy of the GEORGE LUCAS-directed film from his workplace in Los Angeles and passed it along to the others until it reached an eighth party, MARC HOAGLIN, 28, who has admitted to putting a copy on the internet (DEC05). Hoaglin is due to be sentenced in March (06).

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) said in a statement, "We are glad to see the Star Wars thieves brought to justice.

"Stealing copyrights is a serious problem, and the theft and illegal distribution of Revenge of the Sith was a glaring example of how the actions of dishonest people can cheat the movie-watching experience."

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