NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A New Jersey man pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal copyright infringement for stealing a preliminary copy of "The Hulk" and posting the movie online.

Kerry Gonzalez, 24, of Hamilton, N.J., got a "work print" of the film from a friend who had been loaned a copy by another person at a New York City advertising agency.

Universal Studios, currently part of Vivendi (V: up $0.25 to $18.50, Research, Estimates), had sent a rough version of "The Hulk " that did not include some special effects to several advertising agencies with the explicit understanding that the copies not be shared.

Nonetheless, Gonzalez obtained the work print, made a digital copy, removed the Universal Studio logo from the print and ran the film through a program in an effort to defeat an encoded security tag. Gonzalez then uploaded the illegal copy of "The Hulk" to a file sharing Web site June 6th, two weeks before the public release of the movie June 20th.

Gonzalez entered his guilty plea in U.S. District Court. He faces up to three years in prison, and a fine up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense. He is due to sentenced Sept. 26th.