The first case involving online piracy in South Africa concluded today (Thursday, 17 April 2014) with the accused pleading guilty in the Commercial Crimes Court in Bellville, Htxt has reported.<\/p>\n
As part of the plea bargain agreement with the state, South Africa\u2019s first convicted online pirate, Mr Majedien Norton, received a suspended prison sentence for 5 years<\/a> and no fine.<\/p>\n This means Norton will not be heading to prison, so long as he stays out of trouble and avoids any convictions for a period of 5 years.<\/p>\n Technology lawyers have previously told MyBroadband that the maximum penalty for a repeat copyright offender is five years in prison and\/or a fine of up to R10,000.<\/p>\n First time offenders could look at 3 years in jail and a fine of up to R5,000 for distributing copyrighted content without the proper license.<\/p>\n Norton was accused of distributing the South African film Four Corners via the popular BitTorrent index (and tracker) The Pirate Bay.<\/p>\n Ian Gabriel, the director of Four Corners, said in a statement earlier in April that, while he is pleased the film is reaching more people, in the long run unchecked piracy will \u201cliterally\u201d mean the end of film-making.<\/p>\n South African arrested for piracy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Three-strike piracy law eases up<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on Piracy<\/h3>\n