True cost of ‘piracy’ case
p2p news / p2pnet: The public foots much of the bill when the entertainment and software cartels go on anti-counterfeit rampages, their targets often including their own customers.
It’s now routine, for example, for law enforcement and other tax-payer funded agencies to be used in various corporate national and international ‘operations,’ and for elected politicians to provide loud support.
Now, in Britain, "The most costly criminal case clocked up legal aid fees of £18.4m (about $34,714,108)," says the Guardian Online.
The case? Operation Blossom, "a prosecution of six men on charges of international software piracy," says the story.
And, "legal aid payments to the defence team," added on more than £19 million.
"Fifteen barristers were paid for working on the piracy case," states the Guardian Online. "Their full fees are not stated but three received brief fees of £450,000 (about $848,188) or more for preparing the case."
Also See:
Guardian Online – Lawyers charged £28m in legal aid for two cases , May 13, 2006
May 19th, 2006 at 12:26 am
the music industry has made an industry of complaining about piracy.
They reject technological solutions and the opportunity for settlements (which means revenue opportunities for artists) because they get commercial and legislative opportunites out of the current position.
Is it a coincidence that the people who advise on piracy are so often the very same law firms who make millions of dollars from having the piracy cases run?