OiNK Uploaders Sentenced to Community Service

[Detale]

OiNK Uploaders Sentenced to Community Service
January 23, 2009


"After months of delay, four users of the popular BitTorrent tracker OiNK have been sentenced to community service and payment of court costs. One uploader and Alan Ellis, the administrator of the site, are still awaiting their day in court.

In October 2007, Operation Ark Royal
achieved its aims. OiNK, one of the largest and most prestigious BitTorrent trackers, was shut down in a joint effort by British and Dutch law enforcement.

Site administrator Alan Ellis was arrested immediately and eventually charged with conspiracy to defraud. Five others, who were arrested months later, were accused of uploading music to others via the site.

Four of the uploaders plead guilty at Teesside Crown Court last December, where they were all charged with copyright infringement offenses. The four have now been sentenced.

Steven Diprose was sentenced to 180 hours community service, and has to pay £378 in Court costs. Michael Myers was ordered to pay a £500 fine. Mark Tugwell has to undertake 100 hours community service and has to pay £378 Court costs. The fourth uploader, James Garner was sentenced to 50 hours community service and also has to pay £378 Court costs.

For one other uploader and OiNK admin Allan Ellis the wait continues. Their cases have been adjourned and they will appear before court in March.

A source close to one of the convicted uploaders told TorrentFreak in a response: “[The Judge] swallowed the prosecution line completely that initial seeders were causing major damage to the copyright holders, and particularly uploaders who uploaded before the official release date. The fact that all the early uploads were only 1 or 2 days early and that 3 out 4 of the uploaders bought their CDs online did not sway him. All the retailers, quite naturally, denied this.”

We were further told that, if the defendants had not had such good references and strong legal representation, the Judge would have seriously considered a custodial sentence. This ruling, the first of its kind in the UK, will most certainly be used as a precedent for future cases."


Source: OiNK Uploaders Sentenced to Community Service

[Cabalo]

so, the ones convicted, were actually guys uploading stuff before it had hit the stores? that's what they used to differentiate them from the other several hundreds of uploaders at the site ?

[TheFoX]

Lucky for them that they did not live in the US. From previous examples, US citizens get hit much harder that community service and low court costs (re: Jamie Thomas).

Lets see what happens to Ellis.

[Funkin']

That's what it looks like Cabalo. Or maybe they were major uploaders. I know most of us members upped a few albums ourselves. But it looks like they may have went after the few that were constant/heavy uploaders, and uploaded shit that didn't even hit the stores yet.

And yeah, these guys got off with a slap on the wrist. The money they have to pay isn't an overly high amount. And 100-180 hours of community service is a piece of cake. I've had to do it several times, and each place I did the work at padded my time, each time. So in reality I did maybe half of the hours I was sentenced to.

So all in all, these four guys got off pretty easy for uploading copyrighted material. I really hope the owner gets a similar sentence as those four. But for some reason I don't think he will. I think they're going to hit him pretty hard to set an example.

[WHiKWiRE]

community service makes more sense than prison. i'm happy to hear that the uk has it right

[wiseD]

Well, I'd be pleased tbh, the system here in the UK does seem to have worked this time.

Ellis is gonna have a bit of a rough ride though, since he 'made it all possible' as it were.

[SonsOfLiberty]

Actually they didn't get off easy, just those 4, these are the real people behind it...

For one other uploader and OiNK admin Allan Ellis the wait continues. Their cases have been adjourned and they will appear before court in March.

[GizmoMogwai]

What the hell? One of those dudes who was arrested was called Michael Myers.

Epic naming win.

[TheFoX]

Let's wait and see, but if the current sentencing is anything to go by, then Ellis will get a slightly harder slap on the wrists.

While thinking about this today, there is a very wide gulf between sentencing in the US, and the same in the UK. If this sort of sentencing becomes the trend, then I honestly don't think that it will act as a deterrent that the industry want.