A software pirate has found an odd escape hatch in his quest to avoid paying huge damages to companies claiming he stole their products: He must make an anti-piracy YouTube video go viral.
The 30-year-old man from the Czech Republic pirated Microsoft’s Windows 7 and 8 operating systems and distributed media and software on filesharing sites, according to the BBC.
Known only as Jakub F, he was convicted and given a three year suspended sentence by Czech courts, where the companies also claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial damages.
The firms seeking damages include HBO Europe, Sony Music, Twentieth Century Fox, and Microsoft, which alone estimated damages of around $300,000.
In his YouTube video, Jakub claims that at his current salary, it would take him a lifetime to pay off such a sum, so the companies offered him an out-of-court solution.
The Business Software Alliance, which represents Microsoft, and the other companies would accept only a fraction of the money they were seeking in exchange for the man starring in his own anti-piracy video.
The over-the-top video, styled like a foreboding after-school special complete with dramatic soundtrack is, according to the opening credit, “based on real events.” It begins with a forlorn Jakub sitting in a dark interrogation room as he lays out his woeful tale of illicit file-sharing, which ends with him being ensnared in the piracy investigators’ net, interrogated by police and eventually prosecuted for his crimes.
“Up until a few hours ago, I was on the same side of the monitor as you,” Jakub begins. “You have no idea how easy it is to get here — here where the virtual world of 1s and 0s becomes all too real.”
He then lays out how he got caught up in an endless loop of “Ctrl C Ctrl V” (keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste), sharing tens of gigabytes of data on various forums for eight years — until “it happened.” He began getting warning notices about copyright infringement and, eventually, police tracked him down at work.
Then came the warrants, the interrogations, the lawyers, the courtrooms and “paper and more paper,” an exasperated Jakub says over images of an elderly man in a suit going over piles of paperwork with a confused and scared looking Jakub.
“There was no end to it. Everything revolved around the damage I caused and which I would have to pay back,” Jakub says in the video.
He then implores viewers to help him get to 200,000 vies by sharing his story — literally.
“It began with sharing, and it can end with sharing,” Jakub dramatically concludes.
Starring in the film isn’t enough however – it has to be popular, too. Digital Spy wrote that he has just two months from the video’s publication to reach 200,000 views.
A spokesman for the Business Software Alliance told the BBC that the time limit was to guarantee Jakub would work hard to distribute the video.
They’ve given him some help, though.
According to the BBC, the alliance opened a dedicated website called My Piracy for Jakub to share his story.
“I thought I was not doing anything wrong,” he’s quoted as saying on the website in Czech. “I was convinced that I was too small a fish to be grabbed. Well, finally they got me.”
Regardless of the outcome, Jakub will still be serving his three year sentence. He’ll just be able to avoid paying the total of the damages claimed.
As of press time, his video has more than 185,000 views – just on the precipice of sparing him a massive fine.
Pixabay via Pexels
"*" indicates required fields
Software Asset Management is a business practice that involves managing and optimising the life cycle of software within an organisation.
Software asset management is relevant to many facets of a business - take a look at some of the roles that it can form part of the focus of.
Software vendors come in all shape and sizes - all with their own set of licensing models and rules. We take a look at just a few of them.
As a constantly evolving subject, SAM is not without its challenges. We take a look at some of the most common ones.
Wondering what an investment in SAM could do for your business? Fill out a few details and find out what return you could get!
Answer a few questions about your SAM infrastructure & experience, and we'll put together a personalised recommendation for the future.
A simple health check of what's being used across your Office 365 estate in this FREE, Microsoft backed and easy to setup review.
Just like you would with your vehicle each year, get an annual check up of your software asset management programme.
Overwhelmed by the task of documenting the steps for a successful SAM programme? Get the experts in to help!
Concerned your SAM tools aren't covering your whole estate? Or on the look out for an entirely new tool? Get us in to assist.
Not content with covering all things SAM related, we've teamed up with Capital to provide a comprehensive hardware asset management review.
A simple, one-time reconciliation of the software you have deployed versus the licence entitlement you own.
A regularly scheduled analysis of your organisation's estate, specifically adapted to your needs and budget.
A full appraisal of your Microsoft 365 setup and how best to optimise it through automated recommendations.
An add-on to our SAMplicity One, MOT and Plus offerings, quickly diagnose your ability to migrate your resources to the cloud.
In collaboration with law firm Addleshaw Goddard, ensure the legality of your SAM programme and get assistance with any contract disputes.
Available as standard with SAMplicity Plus, ensure you're compliant if you're unexpectedly audited by a vendor.
We've teamed up with some of the forefront experts in licensing knowledge so you can teach yourself to be an expert too.
Stumped by the continually evolving complexities of SAM? Join us for one of our comprehensive courses, either in-person or online.
It’s chock full of useful advice, exclusive events and interesting articles. Don’t miss out!