The Associated Press

A copy of the romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give that was sent to an Oscar voter has surfaced on the Internet, prompting a probe by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Academy officials said Monday that they learned last week about the unauthorized online copy of the movie starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.

The development was a setback for the anti-piracy campaign by the film industry and the academy. Last year, the academy banned the distribution of so-called "screener" DVDs and videotapes over concerns about bootlegging, but partly lifted the ban after complaints from filmmakers, producers and independent production companies.

The studios changed the policy in October to allow the shipment of encoded videocassettes to Academy Award voters only. A federal judge in December, however, granted a temporary injunction lifting the screener ban in a lawsuit brought by independent production companies, which argued the policy put them at a disadvantage for awards. The studios then sent screeners to thousands of other awards voters.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the videocassette copy that ended up on the Internet had been sent to Carmine Caridi, a film and television actor, who appeared in the The Godfather: Part II and television's NYPD Blue.

The academy required its 5,803 eligible Oscar voters to sign forms promising to protect their tapes before they were received.

About 80 percent signed and returned the forms.

"We did everything we could to ensure the secure handling of all of our screeners sent to members of the academy," Sony spokesman Steve Elzer said. "We are very concerned about this situation, and have turned over all relevant information to the academy."