A 30-year-old convicted software pirate escaped from a punishment
(cash fine) after he got 200,000 views on a video on Youtube.
Actually, Czech court had ordered, Jakub F had to produce 200,000
views on his Public Service Announcement (PSA) as an alternative to coughing up
what the aggrieved copyright holding companies had decided was their financial
loss due to his piracy.
The video entitled “The Story of my Piracy”, which includes
a message that reads, a faithful depiction of how Jakub initially enjoyed
pirating the software, before being tracked down and receiving a visit from the
police.
If he would have got the like, he would have to pay around
$373,000, with Microsoft alone calling for $223,000.
It all started when the firms, which included Microsoft, HBO
Europe, Sony Music and 20th Century Fox, estimated that the financial damage
amounted to thousands of pounds, with Microsoft alone valuing its losses at
5.7m Czech Crowns (£148,000).
But, Business Software Alliance (BSA), which represented Microsoft,
acknowledged that Jakub could not pay that sum.
After that, the companies said they would be happy to
receive only a small payment and his co-operation in the production of the
video.
They put a condition that the video would have to be viewed
at least 200,000 times within two months.
A spokesman for the BSA told BBC that the stipulation
was to ensure that Jakub would help share it as widely as possible. If he could
not do so, the firms would have grounds to bring a civil case for damages.
