Kevin Cogill, the man who pleaded guilty to leaking nine tracks from the then unreleased Guns N' Roses album "Chine se Democracy," was sentenced on Tuesday in Los Angeles to a year's probation and two months of home confinement.
Cogill is lucky not to be headed to jail. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian recommended to the judge that Cogill spend some time behind bars, but the judge ignored it. "I wanted to send a strong message to people who might consider committing these kinds of crimes in the future," Missakian said.
Last August, Cogill became the first Californian charged under a 3-year-old federal antipiracy law that makes it a felony to distribute unreleased copyright works online. Cogill pleaded guilty to uploading the songs to his personal Web site last August before they went on sale. As part of Cogill's sentence he must make a public service message for the Recording Industry Association of America. A spokesman for the RIAA declined to comment.
The case may not be over. What likely contributed to Cogill's light sentence is that he has told authorities how he came into possession of the songs. Could other arrests be made?
"I can't comment on an ongoing investigation," Missakian said.
The man accused of copyright violations after posting tracks from Guns N' Roses upcoming album--Chinese Democracy--has agreed to plead guilty, according to a published report.
Dave Kravets over at Wired.com reports that Kevin Cogill, 27, confessed to uploading nine songs last summer to his site, Antiquiet and now faces a misdemeanor charge of copyright infringement.
Los Angeles federal prosecutor Craig Missakian told Kravets that Cogill's guilty plea was part of a plea deal that will be entered on December. 8. Last August, Cogill became the first Californian charged under a 3-year-old federal antipiracy law that makes it a felony to distribute unreleased copyright works online.
As part of the deal, Cogill will only face up to one year in prison instead of the five years that a felony conviction could have brought.
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