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Czech Judge Cuts Deal With Software Pirate: Get 200K YouTube Views Or Pay Huge Fine

Posted by timothy on from the internet-famous dept.

An anonymous reader writes: A judge allowed a software pirate to make a anti-piracy PSA and get away from paying a $373,000 / €351,000 fine he owed Microsoft and other software manufacturers. The only condition was that his video should get over 200,000 views on YouTube. From the BBC's coverage of the trial's unusual outcome: [The defendant, known only as Jakub F] came to the out-of-court settlement with a host of firms whose software he pirated after being convicted by a Czech court. In return, they agreed not to sue him. ... The firms, which included Microsoft, HBO Europe, Sony Music and Twentieth Century Fox, estimated that the financial damage amounted to 5.7m Czech Crowns (£148,000). But the Business Software Alliance (BSA), which represented Microsoft, acknowledged that Jakub could not pay that sum. Instead, the companies said they would be happy to receive only a small payment and his co-operation in the production of the video. In order for the firms' promise not to sue to be valid, they said, the video would have to be viewed at least 200,000 times within two months of its publication this week. ... But, if the video did not reach the target, the spokesman said that — "in theory" — the firms would have grounds to bring a civil case for damages."

55 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. And it makes a news story.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    And thus he is probably fine.

    but not fined.

    Right.

  2. Don't pirate software by NotInHere · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just don't use proprietary software. Simple as that, no legal risk.

    I don't want Windows or Office or that Adobe thingy, not even if its for free as in money.

    1. Re:Don't pirate software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually I think if he does make an anti-piracy PSA, he should go exactly on that angle.

      "Kids, don't download closed source software on the internet. I know they're charging hundreds of dollars that you can't afford, but they'll rip you a new asshole like they're trying to do to me! Instead, search out and use FREE open sourced software. There are plenty of options for just about every program you could need, completely free, and no risks of a legal shake down by companies such as microsoft who add spyware to their programming anyway!

      Please take a look in the description for links to many free linux installers, helpful how-to videos on how to install them, as well as a large list of free software sites! Don't be a part of the piracy problem, be a part of the solution of freedom from bug-written, backdoored, closed sourced, software!

      Remember to like and subscribe!"

    2. Re: Don't pirate software by Dantoo · · Score: 1

      Name 10 of these businesses that have absolutely no clue.............. LOL

    3. Re:Don't pirate software by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      As if that could protect you from being sued.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re: Don't pirate software by hawkinspeter · · Score: 4, Informative

      That's dumb. GPL covers the distribution rights, so if you're concerned about that, don't distribute GPL software. GPL places no restrictions on simply using the software.

      --
      You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
    5. Re: Don't pirate software by NotInHere · · Score: 1

      I guess the microsoft salesman tells a different story :(.

    6. Re: Don't pirate software by TheReaperD · · Score: 2

      Actually, you are both right. A lot of companies have a no FOSS software rule due to the GPL and it's based on a total lie spread by salesmen. I have personally seen a Microsoft salesman tell it and I've heard of an Oracle one telling it. They use the GPL as a boogyman to convince clueless C-level personnel to never use free software and to buy their products instead.

      --
      "Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
    7. Re:Don't pirate software by TapeCutter · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What part of "his co-operation in the production of the video" makes you think he will get to write the script?

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    8. Re: Don't pirate software by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 2

      I've heard the "if you use X GPL software, all the things you produce are open source as well!!!!" ie for GIMP, your pictures would be OSS, etc.

      Such FUD bullshit but people don't seem to want to check the facts or get a real opinion.

      We had an in-house "FOSS Briefing" paper structured like an interview. It was so, so full of errors it wasn't true.

    9. Re: Don't pirate software by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      That's dumb. GPL covers the distribution rights, so if you're concerned about that, don't distribute GPL software. GPL places no restrictions on simply using the software.

      Depends.

      AGPL certainly puts restrictions on just using it - if you use it, you have to make the source available even if you don't distribute it. (It's designed for web applications).

      And you also have to be careful that the output is not GPL'd - compiler compilers like bison and yacc have special exceptions in their license because they emit code that was from GPL code - the exception being that the emitted code is NOT GPL.

      Then there's GPLv3 code which is incompatible with GPLv2 code (v2-only). A lot of places are scared of the GPLv3 because of what it can do, so many places will grudgingly allow GPLv2, but GPLv3 is out of the question.

      And yes, you can also "pirate" GPL open-source - we call those people "GPL Violators" instead of "pirates" though. (Piracy is copyright violation. Copyright violation happens because if you don't agree to the GPL, it falls under standard "all rights reserved" copyright. Since you didn't want to obey the GPL, the code is no longer GPL but standard copyright and distribution restricted.)

    10. Re:Don't pirate software by rtb61 · · Score: 2

      No matter what is in the video, what makes you think the foolish judge has not turned him into an instant internet hero and made the pigopolists look even worse. Especially to all those views from people who can not speak Czech and just viewed the content to 'argh' support the pirate 239,002 when I added my support. So to be fair what are the latest penalties for abusing DMCA takedown, still fuck all?

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    11. Re:Don't pirate software by bloodhawk · · Score: 2

      He wasn't USING the software. He was uploading it to various warez forums for others. This is actually the exact sort of person these businesses and courts should be targeting rather than the end users. Sadly this seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

    12. Re: Don't pirate software by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      And you also have to be careful that the output is not GPL'd - compiler compilers like bison and yacc have special exceptions in their license because they emit code that was from GPL code - the exception being that the emitted code is NOT GPL.

      I have never heard of any GPL program that places GPL-like restrictions on its output.

      And yes, you can also "pirate" GPL open-source - we call those people "GPL Violators" instead of "pirates" though. (Piracy is copyright violation. Copyright violation happens because if you don't agree to the GPL, it falls under standard "all rights reserved" copyright. Since you didn't want to obey the GPL, the code is no longer GPL but standard copyright and distribution restricted.)

      Potayto, potahto.The code remains GPL and copyright, whether someone abides by the license or not. The copyright-holder grants, via the GPL, certain rights to users of the software, provided they fulfill the conditions of the license. If you don't fulfill the conditions of the license, then you lose the rights under it. The license doesn't just "disappear" to be replaced with standard copyright restrictions.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    13. Re:Don't pirate software by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      It's over 370k views already...

    14. Re: Don't pirate software by hawkinspeter · · Score: 1

      I think you're getting a bit confused there. AGPL doesn't so much place restrictions on the user, but instead redefines who the user is - the person who interacts with the software rather than the person who owns the server that it is running on. If you don't modify AGPL code, then you're fine.

      Not "obeying" the GPL doesn't alter the license of the code at all. It's simply that the GPL can grant distribution rights if you abide by it and if you don't abide by the GPL, then you no longer have any distribution rights to it and can be considered to be violating copyright (i.e. unauthorised distribution).

      --
      You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
    15. Re: Don't pirate software by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      Well the republicans keep telling us government should be more like a business so I guess thats a good thing then ?

      For the record: I reject their premise. The purpose of government is to do all the things that are better not done like a business would.

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    16. Re: Don't pirate software by barbariccow · · Score: 1

      That's not true at all. The US Government cannot hold copyright, everything it produces is either public domain or classified in some way. Classified documents/source are not subject to copyright.

  3. Link to BBC story by NotInHere · · Score: 1

    http://www.bbc.com/news/techno...

    TFS's link is broken.

  4. About $350 + Video by bengoerz · · Score: 2

    The going rate for YouTube Views on Fiverr is around $5 per 3000.

  5. Anyone have a mirror? by grnbrg · · Score: 1

    :)

  6. how long til it goes viral? by fullmetal55 · · Score: 1

    I have a hunch something like this will easily go viral and easily get the 200k views in a matter of days.

    1. Re:how long til it goes viral? by gnite · · Score: 1

      Yup, it's already at 175k.

  7. Mostly a Fake! by paskie · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is mostly a fake story fabricated by the local anti-piracy organizations.

    The judge has nothing to do with it - the guy was sentenced and released on parole, with no damages granted - the associations were referred to civil legal proceedings, and *one* of the associations made an out-of-court settlement offer to the guy. They'll make a viral video about him and the association will not sue.

    The $373,000 are damages that would be claimed by the association, but these damages are typically grossly overestimated and only fractions of the claims are granted by Czech courts. The judges usually require detailed analysis of the damages to get convinced what to grant.

    Skilled news spinning, in short.

    --
    It's not the fall that kills you. It's the sudden stop at the end. -Douglas Adams
    1. Re:Mostly a Fake! by RS+Taylor · · Score: 1

      It's posts like these giving the inside scoop which make slashdot great. So is he still on the hook for actions from the other organisations?

  8. Hoax - sort of by awe_cz · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is a PR campaign orchestrated by BSA (Business Software Aliance), see this article (in czech, google translated) https://translate.google.com/t... It's not right to pirate software but it's also not right to lie, shame on you, BSA.

    1. Re:Hoax - sort of by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Uh... when I look at the comment section, it MIGHT have backfired just a teeny tiny bit...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  9. So wait... what? by mark-t · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The firms, which included Microsoft, HBO Europe, Sony Music and Twentieth Century Fox, estimated that the financial damage amounted to 5.7m Czech Crowns (£148,000). But the Business Software Alliance (BSA), which represented Microsoft, acknowledged that Jakub could not pay that sum. Instead, the companies said they would be happy to receive only a small payment and his co-operation in the production of the video. In order for the firms' promise not to sue to be valid, they said, the video would have to be viewed at least 200,000 times within two months of its publication this week.

    How will not getting 200,000 views enable him to be more able to pay the amount he is said to owe, exactly? If the whole point of cooperating with them and making the video was to reduce his damages, apparently on the basis that he supposedly would not be able to afford the damages in the first place, it seems entirely pointless to threaten to come back and sue him for just as much if it doesn't reach a particular view count.

    That said, this story is probably high-profile enough that he will probably get the requisite number of views anyway.

    --
    File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    1. Re:So wait... what? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

      He also isn't making the PSA - he's appearing in it, but he's really just an actor playing himself. He isn't writing it, or directing it.

      It's a stunt, but a harmless one. The use of a real person as a case study heightens emotional connection to the audience, and the 'view or sue' novelty ensures plenty of media coverage (like this) that will ensure the video is widely seen. There are a lot of things competing for people's attention on the internet, it takes something unusual to be noticed.

    2. Re:So wait... what? by easyTree · · Score: 1

      It's backfired (for me) in the sense that "wow, these fuckers are evil - do I really want to support that ?"

      Probably not; which is the best linux distro? I need to do development too.

      --
      Requiem for the American Dream
    3. Re:So wait... what? by inasity_rules · · Score: 1

      They're all pretty much the same really. Ubuntu (and it's bastard children) seem to be updated better than the others, but I use OpenSUSE, because of mono.

      --
      I have determined that my sig is indeterminate.
    4. Re:So wait... what? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      I too use OpenSUSE, because it was the first to support btrfs, and btrfs is really nice. Even if it still has a lot of bugs in.

  10. Streisand Effect by Dracos · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As a legal tactic.... brilliant!

  11. Obligatory RIAA Public Service Announcement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Oldie but still my favorite:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9rT1RHhAQ RIAA PSA Commercial

    I think the only thing stopping the copyright regimes from doing that for real is they're still trying to get the legislation passed via their paid congress ppl.

    1. Re:Obligatory RIAA Public Service Announcement by easyTree · · Score: 1

      Those Nazi werewolves seem way more up-for-discussion than your average copyright-shill judge.

      --
      Requiem for the American Dream
    2. Re:Obligatory RIAA Public Service Announcement by inasity_rules · · Score: 1

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      --
      I have determined that my sig is indeterminate.
  12. Sure, here you go by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    (:

    1. Re:Sure, here you go by IanBal · · Score: 1

      Glad to have contributed my view to the current 487,011 :)

  13. What, that's it? by Minwee · · Score: 1

    I still think that the original video was much better.

  14. What's happening by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

    His view count seems to be stuck at 194130 views for the past few minutes. Doesn't YouTube update the view count every minute or so?

    1. Re:What's happening by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      Still stuck at 194130 views after another 20 minutes. I'm with AC on this one, something's wrong.

    2. Re:What's happening by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      Never mind, it's now at 212081 views.

  15. Please don't use the word "piracy" by xororand · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Publishers often refer to copying they don't approve of as "piracy." In this way, they imply that it is ethically equivalent to attacking ships on the high seas, kidnapping and murdering the people on them. Based on such propaganda, they have procured laws in most of the world to forbid copying in most (or sometimes all) circumstances. (They are still pressuring to make these prohibitions more complete.)

    If you don't believe that copying not approved by the publisher is just like kidnapping and murder, you might prefer not to use the word "piracy" to describe it. Neutral terms such as "unauthorized copying" (or "prohibited copying" for the situation where it is illegal) are available for use instead.

    https://www.gnu.org/philosophy...

    1. Re:Please don't use the word "piracy" by RS+Taylor · · Score: 1

      http://copyrightsandcampaigns.... "Which got me thinking: where does the use of "piracy" to refer to copyright infringement come from? Was the term appropriated from the "ay, matey" pirates in a secret 1999 meeting of RIAA flacks, as they girded for battle with Napster? Hardly. When I started looking into it, I was somewhat surprised to learn that "piracy" has been used as a synonym (or near-synonym) for copyright infringement for about 350 years. In his exhaustive etymological study of the terms "piracy" and "intellectual property," Professor Justin Hughes of Cardozo Law School traces the equation of "piracy" with infringement to an English bishop named John Fell, who lived 1625-1686."

    2. Re:Please don't use the word "piracy" by HiThere · · Score: 2

      Do you also campaign to reclaim the word "hacker'? Those battles are lost.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
  16. To game the system by mysidia · · Score: 3, Interesting

    the video would have to be viewed at least 200,000 times within two months of its publication this week.

    How about robotically-generated views from numerous cloud instances temporarily stood up for the purpose of generating simulated views?

  17. Disparity by easyTree · · Score: 2

    The financial damage equalled 148,000.00 GBP = 223,493.93 USD but he 'owed' these companies $373, 000 ? Huh?

    Anyone feel like using their botnet to 'view' the video (exactly) 200,000 times?

    --
    Requiem for the American Dream
  18. Translation of the video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I missed a few words, but as best as I can make out, it's this:
    --------
    My name is Jacob
    Just a few hours ago I was on the same side of the monitor as you
    You can't begin to suspect how easy it to get here
    here where the virtual world of 1s and 0s gets an all too real shape
    Ctrl-C Ctrl-V continually
    I was in communication of people who made warez, I spread illegal computer programs, but I did not feel like I was doing anything illegal
    We took from wealthy firms and ???? (TN: did not catch this part)
    I did it for 8 years and amassed 10s of gigabytes of data and was glad that people world wide appreciated it
    But then it happened
    Despite that warez is done by many groups around the world, the scent caught by investigators was mine

    I received my first ??? (TN: I assume the word is "summons" - not that familiar with legal Czech)
    And then another
    and another

    The police came for me even to work
    The criminal complaint, lawyers, hears, court.
    Papers and more papers
    There was no end

    All revolved around the damages I caused, and that I must recompense
    The makers of the software enumerated the damaged of almost 6 million Crowns.
    Such a sum, I'll be paying out of my income for the rest of my life.

    I will be able to recompense out of court, if you spread my story

    Maybe I shared something even to you just now
    Help me reach 200,000 views
    With sharing it started, with sharing it can end

    www.mojepiratsvki.cz

  19. Re:Done. by easyTree · · Score: 1

    03:25 later, it's at 239,002.

    Didn't they breach his human rights by exposing him to cancer-sticks?

    Also, nice product placement for aforementioned death-sticks.

    Just saying :-)

    --
    Requiem for the American Dream
  20. Is advertising enabled on the video? by pellik · · Score: 1

    I hope he has ads set up with youtube. I'd love for him to make a few thousand dollars and cover his defense costs.

    1. Re:Is advertising enabled on the video? by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 1

      He's only an actor playing himself; the BSA made the video and owns the site (and assumedly runs ads on it to cover their prosecution costs).

  21. I love the word "Piracy" by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    For years I told my niece I was a pirate with a straight face. You should have seen the look on her face when she realized I wasn't lying. Don't take that away from me :).

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  22. Re: I don't get it by silentcoder · · Score: 1

    Community service ?

    --
    Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
  23. Re:YouTube is for Cows by doccus · · Score: 1

    ..Go back to "Before It's News" MR Factory farms .. We don't prefer the Moo Cow here!

  24. How'z it feel? by warlow · · Score: 1

    Someone should send a DMCA Takedown request to the video & see if Sony and Fox appreciate the same tactics they've been using against lawful videos.