The inevitable movie about the Jetflicks lawsuit basically writes (and distributes) itself

One day, history will smile upon the convicted Jetflicks guys as it has upon Robin Hood and every other cultural crusader fighting the fight against capitalist monopolies. Remember these names: Kristopher Dallmann, Douglas Courson, Felipe Garcia, Jared Jaurequi, and Peter Huber. Sure, they screwed up a little bit, but that will just make the eventual Social Network–style movie about them that much more interesting. Maybe it will stream on Jetflicks 2.0.

If you’ve never heard of Jetflicks—and don’t worry, you probably haven’t—it’s a lot more than Quibi or Squibi or any of the other gibberish streaming services that seem to be popping up three at a time these days. Per an official Department Of Justice press release (we told you these guys were cool), Jetflicks was an illegal streaming service that amassed a catalog of titles “larger than the combined catalogues of Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, and Amazon Prime.”

By charging subscribers $9.99 per month (per Variety) since as early as 2007, the DOJ claimed Jetflicks “generated millions of dollars in subscription revenue while causing substantial harm to television program copyright owners.” Again unintentionally making them sound like ultra-cool hacker types, the statement continues: “The Jetflicks group used sophisticated computer scripts and software to scour pirate websites for illegal copies of television episodes, which they then downloaded and hosted on Jetflicks servers… Dallmann and his co-conspirators made millions of dollars streaming and distributing this catalogue of stolen content to tens of thousands of paid subscribers.”

It’s hard to know exactly what toppled this behemoth, except “complaints from copyright holders and problems with payment service providers,” per a quote from Assistant Director in Charge (FBI Washington Field Office), David Sundberg, contained in the DOJ’s statement. Sundberg’s quote also contains an awesome tidbit we’d obviously love to see explored in the movie. Apparently, when things started to head south, “the defendants tried to disguise Jetflicks as an aviation entertainment company.” Brilliant.

But even the mighty must fall. This week, a Las Vegas jury convicted all five men of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, a sentence that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Dallman, the leader, was additionally convicted of two counts of money laundering by concealment and three counts of misdemeanor criminal copyright infringement. He now faces a maximum penalty of up to 48 years in prison.

Sure, the Jetflicks group probably shouldn’t have been charging a monthly fee, and nothing gold can ever stay, especially in the ongoing streaming wars. But in an era where the legal platforms can disappear shows and jack up prices with impunity, it’s nice to know that there are still some righteous bandits working in the shadows. Jetflicks is dead, long live whatever comes next.