Eight US residents suspected of involvement in leaking the final Star Wars film onto the net prior to its official release have been charged with copyright infringement offences.

According to court documents, a copy of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was taken from Californian post-production firm and leaked onto the net in the days up to the film's world wide theatrical debut in May.

Albert Valente, 28, of Lakewood, California, has pleaded guilty to copyright infringement charges over allegations that he unlawfully took a screener copy of the film (intended for review purposes only) from the unnamed post-production house where he worked, the BBC reports.

Marc Hoaglin, 36, of Huntington Beach, California, has been charged with uploading the film onto the net, an offences punishable by up to three years imprisonment. Six other defendants have been charged with misdemeanor copyright infringement offences that could, upon convicted, land them in jail for up to 12 months.

All eight face an appearance in court next month. ®

Related stories

• Film pirate gets seven years (5 December 2006)
• Updated Angelina - Brad brat pics leak onto web (7 June 2006)
• Seven cough to copying Star Wars DVD (27 January 2006)
• US man seeks movie plotline patent (4 November 2005)
• How to dress like Darth Vader for less than $800 (3 October 2005)
• Feds deploy massive anti-piracy dragnet (1 July 2005)
• Church goers celebrate Star Wars (27 June 2005)
• Fearless Feds sink Star Wars pirate website (26 May 2005)
• Patent chief teaches children a lesson about copyrights (25 May 2005)
• Empire Strikes Back is best SW film: official (28 April 2005)