May 23rd, 2008
Jail time for anti-copyright pirate?
If you’re a self-avowed rebel intent on purposely violating copyright law, you could at least put your server on the *other* side of the border.
Barry Gitarts, 25, was convicted of “conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement” and found guilty by a jury in US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia yesterday for his 2003-2004 participation in a release group that provided pirated content on the Internet.
The group, Apocalypse Production Crew, had a server in a Texas facility that Gitarts paid for and administered. From there, the group hosted and traded “hundreds of thousands of copies” of pirated music, movies, software, and games.
Girtis faces five years in federal prison, $250,000 in fines, three years of supervised release and - ouch! - full restitution.
