James Delahunty
1 Jun 2011 14:33
Anne Muir gets three years probation sentence for sharing music online.
She is the first person in Scotland to ever be convicted of illegally sharing music content on a P2P file sharing network. Muir admitted to distributing £54,000 worth of copyrighted music files over an unnamed file sharing network.
Her case began with complaints from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) as part of an investigation into heavy sharers of music. A formal complaint was made to Strathclyde Police, and Muir's home was searched.
Computer equipment was seized from the 58 year old's residence, and investigators found 7,493 digital music files and 24,243 karaoke files. The content has an estimated street value of £54,792.
Her lawyer said that Muir did not financially benefit from her illegal activities, and called the court's attention to Muir's ongoing state of depression, for which she is receiving psychiatric help.