Oink owner acquitted by Jury

[bizzbo]

UK BitTorrent admin acquitted on fraud charge

Posted in Music and Media, 15th January 2010 15:33 GMT

Alan Ellis, the former admin of music BitTorrent tracker OiNK, was acquitted of conspiracy to defraud by a Middlesbrough court today.

In a landmark trial, the 26-year-old stood accused of making $300,000 in user donations from the invite-only service, which members used to share high quality and pre-release music.

Ellis' defence argued OiNK was analogous to Google, and that he was not responsible if members used it to infringe copyright.

He had been arrested in a dawn raid by Cleveland police in October 2007, acting on intelligence from the BPI. Police invited TV cameras to film the swoop, dubbed "Operation Ark Royal".

The IT worker smiled as the jury returned a not guilty verdict and made no comment as he left court, the Press Association reports.

The BPI said: "This is a hugely disappointing verdict which is out of line with decisions made in similar cases around the world, such as The Pirate Bay.

"The defendant made nearly £200,000 by exploiting other people's work without permission. The case shows that artists and music companies need better protection." ®

dunno whether this was done at the time, but it's good news for internet users in the UK, as this may prove a sizeable blow to Mandleson's quest to establish a web of legislation designed solely to protect the interests of his corporate buddies, despite the BPI saying otherwise, the jury verdict is something that can be used to show the public are more concerned with preserving freedom of information.

 

[BlueTony]

Sometimes I love the jury system.

 

[brooklandsblue2.0]

I have a family member who owns a share in a large music website, and the thing that reall pisses me off about Mandlesons crusade is THIS.

He had never, ever given a flying dump about file sharing/downloads until he was wined and dined in Crete on the yacht of the owner of Geffen records......suddenly he comes home and launches this tirade about 'theft' and 'morality'.....just shows how much corruption there is!

 

[without a dream]

The thing is pretty much everyone I know acquires music from unusual sources ;), I assume the majority of people, certainly those under 40 do the same, it's hard to see how a jury conviction is ever going to go through because it surely opens up a whole new world of easy targets to prosecute, surely including the jury.

 

[brooklandsblue2.0]

hunt4tunes is my favourite!

 

[SharpDressedMan]

The thing is pretty much everyone I know acquires music from unusual sources ;), I assume the majority of people, certainly those under 40 do the same, it's hard to see how a jury conviction is ever going to go through because it surely opens up a whole new world of easy targets to prosecute, surely including the jury.

Exactly this.

A jury is made up of what? 12 people

I imagine at least 6 or 7 of them would have downloaded music illegally at one point or another

 

[bizzbo]

yeah, mandy's a c*nt

I certainly talk to plenty of artists who can't imagine life without freely available music. it's their a marketing tool, a free university, brings the like-minded together to exchange ideas and co-operate. it's an R&D department and proving ground.