FTPWelt Operators Receive Suspended Prison Terms
Yesterday, on only the second day of the eight days originally scheduled for it, the FTPWelt criminal trial at the District Court in Mühlhausen came to an end. The brothers Daniel and Thomas R. were found guilty by the 6th Major Economic Crime Division of the court as principals of having founded and operated the illegale Warez download platform. According to the court's opinion the lawyer Bernhard S. had merely aided and abetted the running of the platform. Mr. S. has consistently denied knowing about the content offered on the website.More here.
Daniel R., who is now 22 years of age, was given a suspended prison sentence of 23 months. In addition he has been ordered by the court to perform 120 hours of unpaid charitable work and pay a fine of 6,000 euros. In fixing his sentence the court decided to apply the provisions of the German criminal law relating to young offenders. Not so in the case of the now 32-year-old Thomas R.: He was given a suspended prison sentence of 16 months, but on top of that was ordered to pay a fine of 70,000 euros. With a suspended prison sentence of 10 months Bernhard S., the lawyer who had been an adviser to the brothers, can be thought to have got off lightly. The fine imposed on him by the court is 90,000 euros, which like the other fines will as ordered by the court end up in the coffers of charitable organizations. The court specified the offenses committed as violations of copyright on a commercial scale. The charge of distribution of pornographic material was apparently dropped.
posted by Fergie @ 2/27/2007 03:46:00 PM
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