Man receives suspended sentence for anime file sharing

[ware4me]

The Kyoto District Court has sentenced the second of three defendants for anime file sharing today, but has suspended the sentence for three years.

Kazuhiro Maki was sentenced to 18 months in prison for unauthorized uploading of Gundam and other popular animes over the once popular file-sharing program Share.

According to the ruling, Maki infringed on copyrights for at least 3 months by helping "countless" users download the anime footage originally aired on TV.

On July 16th, Judge Kouji Shibata ordered the first defendant, Moriyoshi Inoha, to serve 18 months in prison but also gave a three year suspended sentence. The third defendant, Takahiro Ōtomo, is still awaiting sentencing.

Share was once a very popular file-sharing program in Japan because it promised high anonymity for its users. When researchers began finding flaws in the program in 2006, its popularity died out. More at: yomiuri

[zefiris]

That's sucks, they shouldn't go to jail for over a year and get suspended for that. I wish the would just get off the hook with a warning. After all, they just wanted to share goodies with everyone.

[LittleVexy]

That's sucks, they shouldn't go to jail for over a year and get suspended for that. I wish the would just get off the hook with a warning. After all, they just wanted to share goodies with everyone.

They didn't went to jail.... They got their sentense suspended. Which basically means they got of the hook with a warning, but if they commit another fellony, the original sentense is reinstated.

Therefore, if they don't commiy any more crimes for a period of 3 years, then they'll never have to server those 18 months for file sharing fellony.

A suspended sentence is a legal construct. Unless a minimum punishment is prescribed by law, the court has the power to suspend the passing of sentence (generally for a period of three years) and place the offender on probation. It is the passing of the sentence, not the sentence itself, that is being suspended. This means that if the person is convicted of another offence during the period when the passing of sentence had been suspended, then the person may be sentenced for the original offence.

Suspended sentence is necessary for probation, but in cases where the penalty is recorded as suspended sentence it is often given to mitigate the effect of the penalty. It is common practice for judges to hand down a suspended sentence to first-time offenders who have committed a minor crime, and for prosecutors to recommend a suspended sentence as part of a plea bargain.

In Canada, a suspended sentence still results in a criminal record even though it is possible that no time is served or other penalty incurred.

In some states of the USA, such as Pennsylvania, suspended sentences have not been authorized by the legislature and are therefore illegal. Com. v. Hamilton, 488 A.2d 277 (Pa. Super. 1985); 42 Pa CSA s. 9721.

Some jurisdictions allow for suspended sentences to be imposed even for fairly serious crimes. An example is the use of suspended death sentences in China, where an offender receives what might appear to be a reletively lenient sentence, but will automatically be executed if subsequently convicted of any other crime. This is used as a way to offer offenders with no previous criminal record a second chance, but with very serious consequences if they fail to reform.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspended_sentence

[stukasa]

I've never liked the idea that people should be punished for sharing something that was televised FOR FREE. I can understand if it was a movie or a DVD rip because those cost money, but people in Japan get to watch anime on TV for free (basically). Plus, sharing anime gives it more exposure around the world, which will lead to higher DVD and merchandise sales when the series gets licensed in other parts of the world.

[ware4me]

I know, I know!