James Delahunty
11 Sep 2009 20:58
A music pirate that was allegedly the head of a piracy syndicate operating across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific was yesterday sentenced to 15 months jail and 300 hours community service in the Sydney District Court. "These are offences where the deterrence of others is paramount," Judge Colin Charteris said.
"No penalty other than a period of imprisonment is appropriate. What you have done is rob the artists of their work and now you will have to give something back." The man had been convicted on 32 separate charges arising from the illegal manufacturing of more than 50,000 remixed compilation albums.
Judge Charteris said the parliament had made it clear that copyright theft was a serious crime and it was important the courts "protect performers and artists so they can be adequately rewarded for their efforts." The Australian Federal Police and Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) had broken up the piracy operating, serving 11 warrants across Sydney.
The District Court ordered the jail sentence be conditionally suspended for a period of 3 years.