Prosecutors want to jail Guns 'N Roses pirate, I say no.

[Archae]

I mean, the record company should give this guy a bonus for giving that piece of shit CD free publicity! :P

Prosecutors Want Jail Time For Guns N' Roses Pirate

Federal prosecutors have requested a six-month prison sentence for a man who has pleaded guilty to illegally posting unreleased Guns N' Roses tracks online.

Kevin Cogill confessed to the cyber crime in December and was charged with a misdemeanour, but now prosecutors want him to serve hard time behind bars.

Federal agents raided Cogill's Los Angeles apartment last August after he posted nine tracks from the then-unreleased Chinese Democracy album on his website, antiquiet.com.

http://wklh.com/pages/2786406.php?contentId=3702009

[begin_within]

1. Doesn't there have to be something of value involved?

[Archae]

2. Hee hee!

[PeaceNikki]

3. Felony charges?

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-music29-2008aug29,0,729953.story

"I hope he rots in jail," said Slash, the former Guns N' Roses lead guitarist. "It's going to affect the sales of the record, and it's not fair. The Internet is what it is, and you have to deal with it accordingly, but I think if someone goes and steals something, it's theft."

...

But Corynne McSherry, staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the arrest of Cogill was troubling for many reasons. It raises the prospect of eager fans going to jail for posting a handful of songs.

"Bringing that hammer down on an individual music fan strikes me as entirely inappropriate," she said. "Taxpayers should be concerned that they are picking up Hollywood and the music industry's legal costs, particularly when you are going after an individual like this."


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[jmowreader]

4. And now, I introduce the Decision Pirate!

Come now the judge in this case:

"Please be seated.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Members of the prosecution. Members of the defense team. Mr. Cogill. Members of the aggrieved party. I thank you for your patience in this case as it raises some troubling legal questions, ones that will be critical as we enter into this new era.

"The most important question regarding this case is not whether cyber crime causes economic hardship. Indeed it does. The most important question is, is a party truly injured when the property that was taken is not worth purchasing?

"That's the case here. I speak as a Guns 'n' Roses fan. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I have all your albums, Mr. Rose. I have Use Your Illusion. I have G 'n' R Lies. I have...you know, the good one! Oh! Appetite for Destruction? Thank you, Ms. Bailiff. I listened to the album in question for a whole day. I even bought a lid of weed to see if that would improve my opinion of this shitty music. Nothing helped. Dude, that album fucking sucks. It's not worth listening to. It's not worth downloading and it sure as hell ain't worth paying for. Your fourteen years would have been better spent rolling pizzas or driving a garbage truck or something. Mr. Cogill's actions, while reprehensible and atrocious, prevented people from unjustly enriching you to the sum of $400,000. The only way I can possibly describe his actions is as a public service.

"Still, we have to do something to ensure people don't do shit like this again. I sentence you to a twenty-minute ass beating for bringing me into this, and assess a fine of $250 to pay my weed bill. This case is dismissed with prejudice."

[AlCzervik]

5. Making people listen to Gun 'N Roses last album should b a prosecutable offense.