Voltage Pictures, the production company that produced this year's Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker, have followed through on their threats to launch a lawsuit against people who illegally downloaded the movie.

Five thousand internet users who used BitTorrent file-sharing programs to download the film are being sued by the producers, who accuse the downloaders of violating their copyright. The Hurt Locker was leaked to the internet a full six months before its US release date last year.

Contact Music reports that the suit names the defendants by their IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. Lawyers plan to subpoena various service providers (ISPs) so they can begin to figure out who the IP addresses belong to.

The defendants will reportedly be asked to pay $1,500 'to be released from their liability.' If they don't, they could be on the hook for up to ten times that much should the case reach the courtroom.

The producers had announced their intention to file the suit less than a month ago and haven't wasted any time. The suit reads in part, 'A Defendant's distribution of even one unlawful copy of a motion picture can result in the nearly instantaneous worldwide distribution of that single copy to a limitless number of people. The Plaintiff now seeks redress for this rampant infringement of their exclusive rights.'

Despite winning the Best Picture Oscar and five other trophies at this year's Academy Awards, The Hurt Locker grossed only $16 million at the American box office.