Guilty verdict in first online music piracy trial means up to five years in jail

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"A 25-year-old Brooklyn man has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement in what the Recording Industry Association of America describes as the first-ever federal trial for online criminal copyright infringement primarily featuring music.

Barry Gitarts was convicted Thursday by a federal jury in Virginia, according to the U.S Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. He now faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release. In addition, he must "make full restitution" to record labels.

This is no mere file sharing case, so if you share the odd file now and again, you don't need to worry about facing charges like this. Under the pseudonym "Dextro," Gitarts was charged with administering a server in Texas for an underground file sharing group called Apocalypse Production Crew.

APC members traded music, games, movies and software amongst themselves but trial testimony portrayed APC as what the RIAA termed a "first provider" or "release group" of pirated content.

According to the RIAA, evidence presented in the case showed that he received payment from the leader of the group in return for this work.

"For the first time ever, a criminal online music piracy case went to trial, and the jury rendered a swift and unanimous verdict," said Brad Buckles, executive vice president of the RIAA's anti-piracy division. "The crimes committed here -- as well as the harm to the music community -- are severe, and so are the consequences.

"We congratulate and thank the U.S. Attorney's office for its work on this case and the larger crackdown against the internet piracy rings that are responsible for leaks of pre-release music weeks and sometimes months before retail release. Groups like APC that specialize in leaking pre-release music are at the top of the piracy pyramid and the efforts of federal law enforcement have dealt a real blow to these kinds of operations."

Gitarts appears to be the 15th APC member to be convicted for criminal copyright infringement as part of U.S. Department of Justice's long-running Operation Fastlink campaign, but his is the first case that went to trial. An RIAA spokesman told Wired.com that the two new wrinkles in this case are that it went to trial and that the charges centered on music.

U.S. District Court Judge Liam O'Grady will sentence Gitarts on Aug. 8".

By Eliot Van Buskirk
  • added May 24, 2008
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10 responses // Guilty verdict in first online music piracy trial means up to five years in jail

  •  

    This is so ridiculous that this even went to trial. When is the music and movie industry going to realize they are never going to stop downloading of music or movies. And to hear the RIAA tell it, they make is sound like the music industry is going bankrupt freakin ridiculous!

    etosha_pent
  •  

    I wonder if the people on the jury where "new age" music listeners? Meaning I wonder if they purchase or occasionaly burn files from friends or indicrete sites. I think the government should have other priorities than hounding peole for finding better ways to get music. And, I think artist and the music industry should once and for all come up with a way of getting their cut from the internet.

    keeesha
  •  

    Well, hopefully the Trent Reznor's, Saul Williams's and Radiohead's of the world keep blazing the trails and setting the trends even faster so we can wipe our hands of the old school RIAA forever!

    Hawkmang
  •  

    another non-violent criminal put in jail, what a waste of our resources!!!

    jade_azul16
  •  

    No shit Jade. So it seems the RIAA can take advantage of artists but we can't take advantage of the RIAA. Once again corporate America at it's worst. And the US Justice Dept can go suck it, they haven't been at the top of their game almost since it's inception.

    Mafioso
  •  

    The lesson to be learned is that if you are going to start an underground file sharing network don't choose a name like "Apocalypse Crew." Maybe "I Love the United States," would be better.

    shbhanda
  •  

    I personaly don't think releasing music and movies before their schedualed release date is something to be proud of and to applaud, but five years and $250,000 dollars is way too much.

    And in my oppinion, the RIAA can burn.

    Nythology
  •  

    The folks at the RIAA can thank themselves for playing a large part in destroying the music business. Yeah, I know that this argument is a bit tired, but it's 100% true. They're a sadi, sad organization and do nothing but embarass the artists that they represent. Suing your consumers? Yeah, wonderful idea folks.

    kanyoufly
  •  

    it's cruel and unusual punishment , actually , it's torture , to send any person to prison for this .

    malathion
  •  

    Just out of curiosity, would music that has been digitally "ripped" become something that falls under the freedom of information act?

    Varex_Sythe
  •  

    For this very reason, file sharing should occur offline. They are never going to stop that.

    Kylsport

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