James Delahunty
15 Jul 2009 20:42
Kevin Cogill, a Los Angeles man who pleaded guilty to uploading tracks from Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy album, is set to participate in an anti-piracy advertisement as part of a deal to avoid jail time. He was also given one year probation and two months' house arrest. The prosecution had demanded a six month sentence originally, valuing the infringement at $371,000.
The calculations were made based on an estimated value of 99c per download, in line with the pricing of the iTunes store. The larger the estimated damages, the longer the sentence was expected to be. According to court documents however, when Cogill agreed to work with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to create an anti-piracy message, the $371,000 figure was withdrawn.
Cogill admitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that he uploaded the 14 track album on June 18, 2008. In March this year, the RIAA claimed that damages were as high as $2.2 million, but said it would accept $30,000 if Cogill was prepared to, "participate in a public service announcement designed to educate the public that music piracy is illegal."
The PSA, which will either be a radio or television address, will stress the importance of protecting the rights of copyright holders.