Prison for internet piracy?

Yes, you can go to prison for that.

It's effectively theft, which you can go to prison for, so yes.

What types of games was he pirating? Like recent AAA shit or more obscure stuff?

>>18033404
What internet you guys got? i've downloaded so much shit with twc and I've never gotten a warning or anything.

>>18033404
What games, what service, and have you considered using VPN?

We need details of all this shit so we'll better give out advice.

>>18033814
And what I mean by service is internet service.
This matters a lot as well, as Comcast loves to be a cunt.

Then again, I could also mean how he got those games, like did he use torrents or an actual service online where you pay for illegal shit?

op here, i don't know exactly what he downloaded but knowing him it's probably recently developed games, and yeah, probably by torrent. If that's the case i know it's theft but 5 years sounds freaking crazy

>>18034190
Nobody can help you unless we know what he's really done. Nobody goes to prison for this, you just get sued.

>>18034190
You have to speak to his lawyer to really know what the odds of a prison sentence are. If he cops to it he may just be fined.

At this point in time when the music/movie/games industries are trying to crack down on piracy you should assume there is some chance a judge will throw the book at him and set a harsh precedent in order to discourage other people from pirating.

Definitely a shill.

No way you would get 5 years for downloading some shit, at most a fine of you're unlucky.

What country do you live in?? In America they just give you a warning. I find this hard to believe.

>On the other hand, piracy of software can be seen as a criminal act akin to stealing. In this case, the infringer can be charged with a criminal offense. In the United States, the maximum criminal penalty for copyright infringement is a fine of up to $250,000 and a jail sentence of up to five years. This involves damages that are both monetary and psychological. A prison record can seriously mar the life of any individual.
From http://legalbeagle.com/6130124-legal-penalties-software-piracy.html

Assuming that is a legitimate source (I don't know what the law is since I'm not American, but other websites say the same thing), there doesn't seem to be anything suspect about OP's story. His brother committed piracy, and the criminal penalty is up to five years in prison.

>>18034225
>In America they just give you a warning.
No they don't. See >>18034230 and literally any website about this.

>>18034219
>>18034225
Do you guys even read the anti-piracy notices on Bluray or DVD movies? It's a five-year sentence and a hundreds and thousands of dollars in fines if you're caught. It's just that it's hard to be caught doing this.

>>18034233
Actually, you do get a warning e-mail from Verizon if whatever you're torrenting triggers their system (brand new movies/games), that is if thats the ISP the person is using.

3 strikes rule or something until they kick you off or whatever. So yeah a warning is possible.

>>18033404

Murica land of the free

>>18033404
How much you paying the lawyer? Public defenders and low income guys will always try to get you to plea bargain, dont fall for this meme.

>>18034259
>In America they just give you a warning.
>just give you a warning
>just

As a first time offender I really doubt anything major would happen. Might get a fine at worst

>>18034245
Dude.. Jails are already full as fuck, do you think they're gonna put every torrent downloader in it ? In the worst case they want to make an example out of him

>>18034261
Home of the brave

>>18034276
>Jails are already full as fuck
>implying the government cares
>implying private prisons aren't looking to increase the numbers of prisons because it means more money for them

> In the worst case they want to make an example out of him
That's probably exactly what they're doing. The point is, there are warnings about this. The penalty shouldn't come as a surprise.

Contact the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) they will help you out and maybe get someone to advocate for you.

OP here, thanks for the replies guys.. he currently lives in usa, i hope he doesn't get the "example" treatment. One can only hope. He didn't even get a warning :/

>>18034233
Internet company's will always give you a warning first when they suspect anything. I have known many people who have been warned.

>>18034916
>>18034920
Warnings are bullshit. The ISPs send them out to pretend they are trying to prevent it so they aren't liable.

If they find anything they hand it over and get you fucked like OP's brother. Contact EFF and google the shit out of it. Unless you have some genius lawyer who is going to push the entrapment angle because they used malware in the torret to get you then your probably fucked.

Good luck finding a lawyer that gives enough of a shit to do that.

wtf is going on in this thread
ive pirated more than purchased by multiple orders of magnitude and not even a letter in the mail
the shills on 4chan are getting bolder, they used to just say it gave you "viruses"

>>18034261
>wtf why can't I steal intellectual property I thought this was america

>>18034988
>shills
you have to go back

>>18033404
Did he himself crack a new game? I find it hard to believe it's 5 years just for torrenting. The toughest I've seen is an expensive ass fine.

Op here, i know right? 5 years is insane :/ i'll tell him about EFF, but in the worst case scenario, is there any way to reduce the jail time? like with good behavior and such? Thanks for your responses.