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First Jail Sentence For Romanian BitTorrent Site Operator

The owner of a Romanian BitTorrent tracker has been the first person in the country to receive a jail sentence for his actions. Following complaints from the Business Software Alliance, Kartel.ro was closed in 2007 but it has taken three years for the case to come to a conclusion. The outcome is a 6 month suspended sentence and an unspecified fine.

romania flagThe Romanian division of the Business Software Alliance has been trumpeting various successes from its work cracking down on the use of unauthorized software.

Amongst various sundry cases of commercial piracy is a landmark case that has just come to its conclusion.

In 2007, the Kartel.ro BitTorrent tracker was shut down following complaints from the BSA that it was assisting in the distribution of material to which its members own the copyrights.

Rather than the BSA pursuing the case through the civil courts, the Romanian state brought a criminal action against the owner of Kartel.ro. The resulting trial concluded in June 2010 which ended in his conviction.

The appeal of that case was heard last month. Romania’s Court of Appeal upheld the earlier decision and a 6 month suspended jail sentence was handed down to the site. He will also be forced to pay compensation to rightsholders, currently estimated to be no more than 10,000 euros.

“Providing the public with works protected by copyright is a crime. Software piracy is a scourge that affects the state as much as the rights holders,” said Monica Pop, Chief Prosecutor from the government’s Intellectual Property Department.

“The law gives protection to these works, although it is often perceived as an exclusive protection of authors. It is an important factor for economic growth and information technology is of fundamental importance for society.”

The comments of Monica Pop are very interesting, particularly when displayed side by side with the words of Romanian President Basescu.

“Piracy helped the young generation discover computers,” Basescu told Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 2007, just before Kartel.ro was closed down.

“It helped Romanians improve their creative capacity in the IT industry, which has become famous around the world. Ten years ago, it was an investment in Romania’s friendship with Microsoft and with Bill Gates.”

It appears that the widespread use of cheap or free pirated software is one of the main reasons behind Romania’s flourishing IT sector. Funny old world.

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  • Gr8

    Good! Lock em up!

  • http://twitter.com/tracker_nfo

    was it a private or an open tracker?

  • Roma

    Private

  • 4

    Funny how this would have never happened in Canada, USA or Britain, but in countries known for corrupt legal system like Romania, that have shady deals with M$.

  • Mutualist

    Capitalism: when human decency is outdated.

  • Anonymous

    Pula mea de jigodii ordinare, faceti soft de toata jena, cereti bani pe el, firmele chiar il cumpara (ca nu au de ales) si inca nu va convine? Cacanari lacomi, sa ne sugeti pula la toti cum ne pisam noi pe mormintii parintilor vostri si cum o sa ne slobozim in crucea copiilor vostri. Sa prind pe careva care are vreo legatura cu BSA pe strada ca il omor cu mana mea in plina zi, sa va invatati minte sa lasati lumea in pace.

    Daca o sa vedeti vreodata un ban de la mine, io sug pula lu’ dumnezau vostru si pun filmarea pa yutub, dar daca ne intalnim vreodata o sa sugeti voi pula lu’ dumnezau meu si pun filmarea pe thepiratebay.org sa vada mamele voastre ce gunoaie comuniste ordinare ati ajuns.

    Care cristosii ma-sii a dat sentinta asta ca-i tai boasele si-i pun familia sa le mance! Dati-mi numele celor care s-au implicat deconectarea site-ului si judecarea administratorului.

    Cu drag,
    Anonymous @ Romania

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  • Whatever

    “although it is often perceived as an exclusive protection of authors.”

    This is not a perception, this is what it is supposed to be nowadays. And the original reason for copyright is obsolete. Everything else she says is used to confuse the issue.

    If someone found a way to easily transform sand to gold (which anyone could do then), this person would end up in jail for life. Not for breaking any law but just for “hurting the economy”.

  • 4

    To bad I don’t understand romanian, and google translate spewed incoherent crap.

  • Anonymous

    @8: What do you need to know?

  • traumatic

    Please, some light for non Romanians reader, ku ei tosta saa erkkikään mitää selvää (first sentence free translate in finnish… clear?)

  • Zush

    Do they do the same to those very violent, very dangerous Romanian criminals that operate in some Mediterranean countries?

  • Anonymous

    @10 stop bitching and say exactly what you need translated.

  • anon

    @6 English MOFO do you speak it!

  • Johnny

    There’s no reason to pirate this kind of software, there’s a free legal open source alternative for each.

  • Anonymous

    @14 What about when your teacher/employer asks you to give them your homework/home work in Office 2295 .zwxlsx format which is “perfectly” compatible with LibreOffice but it’s not really perfectly compatible so half of the stuff you did is worth nothing. That’s actually the [only] reason for which I had to pirate SHITLOADS of software.

  • DarknezzFallz

    If you pay for something how is it they continue to say your sharing something you do not have the rights to?
    These laws need to be changed or we need to remove the ignorant companies that are attacking private parties for sharing what they have paid for.

  • Anonymous

    1. This tracker is/was unknown.
    2. The guy as far as I understand was making money off of pirated material.
    3. This was about a shitty Romanian movie
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032846/
    not about Microsoft.

    @12 It’s impossible to reproduce in English what #6 said. :)

    @6 Mars ma ca era vorba de filmu
    4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile nu de Microsoft.

  • jovialau

    For the edification of those of you who do not read.The IMF declared America bankrupt back in August.Its real debt was estimated at 220 trillion dollars.To give you some perspective.One trillion dollars stacked in $100 bills would reach 8 miles into outer space.There is absolutely no point in attacking or even planning to attack American corporates.They are about to collapse in a screaming heap.Their problems are unsalvagable and inextricable.And they have done it to themselves!Save your breath…sit back…And watch the fireworks!!!!!!!!

  • jovialau

    To give you further perspective.The combined wealth of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.Two of the world`s wealthiest men,is approx 100 billion.This would not even put a dent in America`s debt problems!

  • Mike V.

    who cares,this happens once every 10 years to shut some BSA mouths and the article said it took 3 years for the case to actually come to a conclusion so they can keep saying crap on tv,make headlines but actually no one in romania gives a crap

  • Cujo

    I translated # 6

    Ordinary jerks my dick, all the software you feel embarrassed, ask for money on it, even the companies they buy (they have no choice) and still does not suit you? Greedy asshole, dick suck us all as we piss your parents mormintii us and how we release your child to cross. To catch somebody who has no connection with the BSA on the street as you kill with my hand in a full day to teach your mind to leave the world alone.

    If they ever see a penny from me, suck dick and a lu ‘Gods and bring your pa yutube shooting, but if we ever meet I’ll suck cock mo’ my gods and put the video on your mother to see what thepiratebay.org You have reached the communist ordinary garbage.

    What cristosii-IBS has given me this award as I cut his balls and put his family to eat them! Give me the names of those who were involved disconnecting the trial site administrator.

    With love,

  • Cujo

    opps ,, missed a part lol

    Anonymous @ Romania lol

  • naamee

    “8 Nov 04, 2010 at 13:31 by 4

    To bad I don’t understand romanian, and google translate spewed incoherent crap.”

    I do.

    That’s exactly what it was. Google translated it correctly. You missed nothing.

  • heio

    Down with piracy!! Romania Romanov. Hurray roma, damn u france!

  • ticilis

    Traian Balescu is the biggest mutant in the world!

  • hello

    Ordinary jerks my dick, all the software you feel embarrassed, ask for money on it, even the companies they buy (they have no choice) and still does not suit you? Greedy asshole, dick suck us all as we piss your parents mormintii us and how we release your child to cross. To catch somebody who has no connection with the BSA on the street as you kill with my hand in a full day to teach your mind to leave the world alone.

    If they ever see a penny from me, suck dick and a lu ‘Gods and bring your pa yutube shooting, but if we ever meet I’ll suck cock mo’ my gods and put the video on your mother to see what thepiratebay.org You have reached the communist ordinary garbage.

    What cristosii-SII gave me this award for his balls and put them your family eat them! Give me the names of those who were involved disconnecting the trial site administrator.
    Listen
    Read phonetically

    what no 6 said :p

  • tudor
  • emma
  • Anonymous

    in soviet Romania p2p jails you

  • Anonymous

    Would it be possible to run a tracker inside the tor network? Like those hidden webservers?

  • Vali

    First they “hit” Moldova tracker, then a Romanian (unknown to me) tracker…Hungary next , and after them…who knows !?!?

    And for all of you Sarkozy and Obama lovers…President Basescu said that piracy was/is actually a good thing in Romania.

    Basescu rulez , Mircea Badea sucks Felix the Cat.

  • Anonymous

    @30 “Would it be possible to run a tracker inside the tor network? Like those hidden webservers?”

    yes there is already one. I forgot the addressee but yeah its there. T

  • Searinox

    Lemme do this properly…

    Number 6 said, translating this to more familliar English expressions…

    My dick, what fucking jerks, you make software that’s embarassingly bad, you ask money for it, companies actually buy it(they have no choice) and you’re still not happy? Greedy assholes, may you suck our dicks as we piss on your parents’ graves, and as we cum on the cross of your children. If I ever catch anyone having to do with BSA on the street I’ll kill them myself in broad daylight, let that teach you a lesson to leave people alone.

    If you ever see a penny from me, I’ll suck your god’s dick and put it up on youtube, but if we ever meet it is you who will be sucking my god’s dick, and I’ll put the video on thepiratebay.org so that your mothers can see what communist asshole garbage you’ve become.

    Who in their mother’s christ gave this sentence cause I’m gonna cut his balls off and make his family eat them. Give me the names of those who were involved in the disconnection of the site and judging the admin.

  • Anonymous

    WE ARE RETARDS
    WE ARE GROUPS OF RETARDED KIDS
    EXPECT RETARDED

  • Donnie

    Behind this crap lies Autodesk with their stupid licensing policy Microsoft and the corrupt legal system in Romania.
    @27 and @28 you are a fucking trolls, here nobody gives a shit about your communist bullshit, and remember here nobody watch antena 3.

  • chekr

    @14

    No, there may not be a reason to pirate this software, but pirates still do absolutely nothing wrong and harm no one. The only thing that people can claim that they ‘steal’ is profit that the authors could, potentially, have had. However, that is a terrible argument in light of the fact that everyone in existence ‘steals’ profit that others could, potentially, have had (I can give you quite a few examples if you wish).

    In short: the pirate did nothing wrong.

  • @Troll aka comment #1

    @comment #1

    …go back under your bridge and keep watching your horse porn troll…move along

  • romanian hiere

    :))) 6 comment cant be translated in english .. alot of swearing …. cant be reproduce :)))

    btw romania is ZA HEAVEN
    hispeed net … no laws for internet …or maybe this ona ho got this guy “sentenced” to … phhh… he’ll never pay 10k … i bet he dosent have it ..so … suck his dick for 10k
    … no police checking out for illegal downloads … i bet they dont know how … fuck ya and everything we use is pirated … no one buys virtual shit/pixels

  • PiRat

    @5

    Actually under laws of true free-market capitalism copyright wouldn’t exist.

    Copyright leads to state interventionism, a hallmark of socialism.

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  • Anonymous

    #34, obvious troll is obvious.

  • Anonymous

    Good news: MGM is bankrupt!

  • Anonymous

    At least he knows gypsy magic so the Romanian will have no problem in getting out of prison…

  • Anonymous

    I say, lock our lazors on bsa.org.

  • Mark

    FYI, a suspended sentence means he WON’T be going to jail.

    That is, unless he screws up one of the terms of the sentencing or is convicted again. In that case, it’s right to jail.

  • Mike V.

    @41 too bad u dont know the difference between gypsies and romanians,but neither does most of europe so i wont bother even explaining where gypsies originate from

  • Marius

    +1 for #44
    #41 – Gypsy magic os so overrated :))))

  • Monica Pop suge pula lui Bulibasha Gates

    Ete la pizda asta! Asculta faaa muisto faaaaaaaaa ce te bagi tu ca musca’n pula calului faaaaaaaa? Ce te doare pizdo? Pizda? LinDicku’? Rozeta care ti’a spart’o Nea Gates? Te futi la gramada cu toti cacatii de la Microshit? ‘Ten pastele mati de muista proasta. Ma cac’n botu’ tau ca ai talent sa mesteci cacatu’. Cu pofta. Auzi fa? Fi atenta sa nu te ‘neci. Suptces la muie, tembelo.

    Anonimu’

  • Kukulza

    Now here’s a genuine bilingual message for all the Romanian idiots to understand, while the rest of the civilized world can actualluy make sense of it.

    From the beginning, I’d like to say that I’m working in software development. I have a full-time job, the regular 9-to-6. We’re about 100 guys involved in the business, but that’s a different story. I code, I get paid and support myself and the family, just as anyone would do in a different job.

    —————-NSFW DISCLAIMER—————–

    Now, some fucktards here seem not to understantd that software development is a business. We provide you with software, you pay us, just like you do when you hire contractors to paint your house. You don’t pay for it, you are actually commiting theft. How about you get to work for a month, then get a big dick instead of your paycheck. After all, you’ve surely done a crappy job, why expect payment.

    If the product I’m developing, say Windows, is not good enough for you to buy, how about go fuck yourself and run Linux instead, or better yet, build your own operating system. Quality is not the issue, it’s just a pretext for you to actually commit theft and feel good about it, Romania style. shortly put, IF IT’S CRAPPY, DON’T USE IT. if Windows is crappy, the antivirus is crappy, the games you’re playing are crappy, then fuck off, throw your PC through the window and go do something else. Ploughing would suit you just fine.

    Cativa cacanari care au lasat comentarii nu prea par sa inteleaga ca dezvoltarea de software e o afacere ca oricare alta. Noi va furnizam softul, voi platiti pentru acesta in acelasi mod in care ati plati zugravii sa va varuiasca casa. Daca nu platiti, se considera furt si vine sa va futa BSA-ul, la fel cum v-ar fute politia (sau chiar zugravii) daca nu i-ati plati pe cei din urma. Acuma, cum ar fi sa munciti timp de o luna, apoi, in ziua de salariu sa primiti pula in loc de bani? Ca doar tot ati facut munca de cacat, la ce v-ati mai astepta sa fiti platiti? Ziceti saru-mana pentru cafeaua si ceaiul pe care vi le-au dat patronii moca.

    Daca nu va place softul pe care il fac, sa zicem ca lucrez la Microsoft, de ce pula mea il mai folositi? Mergeti in pizda mamii voastre si instalati-va Linux, sau mai bine, faceti-va propriul sistem de operare. Nu e problema calitatii aici, ci o folositi ca pretext ca sa puteti fura cu inima impacata, in cel mai romanesc mod cu putiinta. Ca sa fiu mai concis, DACA E DE CACAT, NU-L INSTALA. Daca Windowsul e naspa, antivirusul e naspa, jocurile pe care le joci sunt naspa, atunci SUGI PULA si arunca-ti calculatorul pe fereastra apoi mars la sapa.

    Now, for commentor no. 6, the Anonymous. I’m living in Romania and love the BSA. What would you do to me, suck my dick?
    Acuma, pentru comentatorul numarul 6: Sunt roman si am tricou cu BSA. Ce-ai sa faci, imi sugi pula? Mai bine faci infarct.

    My two cents.

  • Valy

    Vreau sa multumesc idiotilor care ne fac de ras prin modul in care se exprima (va stiti, o sa va atacati, si o sa insirati comentarii imediat).

  • Winterboarder

    Daca vreti drepturi trebe sa iesiti in strada. Ati lasat politicienii sa va vinda tara si drepturile la toti perciunatii din lume pe un pumn de euro. Este vina voastra. Pina nu va desteptati din somnul cel de moarte, toti jegosii o sa va calce in picioare, si nu se vor oprii nici odata.

    In loc sa va uniti impotriva lor, va certati ca niste ciini. Citi dintre voi ati fost sa demonstrat in fata la judecatorie. Nici unu.

  • Info

    Pentru compatriotii cu limbaj colorat: Va creste penisul cu cat e mai mare raportul dintre injuraturi si numarul total de cuvinte?

    (translated)For my countrymen with colourful language: Does your penis get bigger as the ratio between swears and total word count increases?

  • H@x0r

    no worriez dear BSA (Bull-Shit-Alliance).. we’ll DDoS ya azz in no time!

  • Softu’ de tot cacatu’

    Ma fut’n softu’ si in “munca” voastra. Open Source bai parazitilor baaa cu doar nu traim in epoka pulii lui Microshit. Prostilor. Ala va fute tara si voi, ca niste muisti, va ingramaditi repede sai sugeti softu’. Of of of, “saracutii de muncitori” – unde draq am mai auzit eu lozinka asta? Ei? Baaa Ceausoftilor baaaaaa la munca cu voi ca tara arde si voi va ardeti la prostata. Rusine.

    Anonimu’

  • Ninja

    Well, considering they won’t get shit back for their expenses (10k euro don’t pay 3 yr lawsuit expenses considering the convicted can pay such money) at least MAFIAA branch had money loss in the process.

    If what ppl say – that the owner actually made money selling the material – is true then he deserved it. In any case, the things said about the case by the officials is a huge pile of bs. And the fact that it went criminal rather than civil just points that a lot of @$$es were oiled with money. Again, if they guy actually charged for copies of the content (not for the use of the website mind you) then things may be different.

    This kind of service (torrent indexers and trackers) has sky high demand throughout the world. MAFIAA should stop being morons and start making money out of it. It’s pretty clear now that ppl will pay for such services. I would. Give them what they want.

  • Searinox

    @53 translation:

    I fuck in your software and your “work”. Open Source yo’ parasites, cause we don’t live in Microshit’s dick age anymore. Idiots. That guy’s fucking your nation and you, like cocksuckers, flock, quickly to suck his soft off. Sigh sigh sigh, “poor workers” – where the devil have I heard this slogan before? Well? Yo, Ceausescu’s people yooooo back to work with you cause the country’s burning and you’re burning it in the prostate(figure of speech that means wasting time). Shame on you.

  • romanka

    twas the articol with the most obscene & foul language in romanian. (especialy). is this what ROM can do best?!

  • Ce te doare, Romanko?

    Ei? Esti Microsoftista? Te arzi cu Billi Porti?

    Ce “best” fa? Esti si Amerikanka?!

    Te pup,
    Anonimu’

  • Hitman

    “First Jail Sentence For Romanian BitTorrent Site Operator”

    Soon in a screen near you the first death of a music executive parasite or one of their lawyers after a spray of pest killer.

  • Hitman

    if one of these corporation of parasites need to kill people to make money they will.

    Therefore we have to kill them first.

  • Anon

    Se confirma din nou ca cei mai mari pirati sunt cocalarii la noi. Asa limbaj nu am mai auzit de cativa ani buni cand aveam o gagica la un liceu mai ghetto. Felicitari.

    Daca folositi un soft tot timpul, cumparati-l. Nu va convine, exista destule alternative. Daca vreti sa vedeti un film bun sau romanesc, platiti pentru asta. Nu se asteapta nimeni la mai mult decat atat. Pacat de comunismul asta ca a introdus mentalitatea asta la noi.

    English: chavs are the biggest pirates in Romania, thus the colourful language.. colourful even for many Romanians, myself included. Peace.

  • Anonymous

    @48
    1) Two words (I doubt you can count this many): Fuck you
    2) Two more words (this would really confuse you if you didn’t had enough fingers on one hand): Open source

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