2008.08.28 - The Wall Street Journal - Arrest Signals Tougher Stance On Music Piracy

Arrest Signals Tougher Stance On Music Piracy

By Sarah McBride

Signaling what could be a more aggressive stance in the fight against online music piracy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a Los Angeles man on copyright-infringement charges for posting on his Web site nine songs from a yet-to-be-released album by the rock band Guns N' Roses.

The songs appeared in June on a music Web site, antiquiet.com, which is registered to Kevin Cogill under the alias Kevin Skwerl. The FBI says Mr. Cogill, 27 years old, told investigators he uploaded the songs to the site.

While the Recording Industry Association of America has mounted an aggressive lawsuit campaign against people who share music online, it usually doesn't pursue criminal charges against them.

Even in cases in which music is uploaded before the release of an album -- a persistent problem in the music industry -- the uploaders usually receive cease-and-desist notices, as Mr. Cogill did. Mr. Cogill responded by telling the attorneys who sent the letter that he had removed the songs from his site and deleted them from his computer.

The cease-and-desist tactic has done little to stem the flow of copyright songs to the Internet, and the industry now acknowledges that it needs to take a tougher stance.

The case represents "the beginning of an effort to be more aggressive," said Kathy Loedler, the RIAA's director of investigations for the western region, adding that the industry wanted to add bite to its existing strategy. "When we tell somebody to just take it down and there's no penalty, there's no arrest, there's no fine, it's very easy for them to continue to do it."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said the RIAA had alerted the Department of Justice to the case, and he planned to prosecute similar cases as they arose. "We take this type of crime very seriously," he said.

The Guns N' Roses album, "Chinese Democracy," which has been in the works for years, has suffered from Internet leaks before, including an excerpt of the song "I.R.S." in 2005. An updated version leaked the following year and ended up getting airtime on radio stations across the country. More tracks leaked in 2007. The songs Mr. Cogill uploaded appear to be a combination of new versions of previously leaked works and new material.

The album's release has been delayed several times. People close to the band have said in recent months that they hoped for a release by year's end.

Anthony Eaglin, an attorney for Mr. Cogill, had no comment.

Larry Solters, a spokesman for Guns N' Roses, said the band's representatives "have been made aware of the arrest, and are leaving the matter to authorities."

If convicted of the copyright charges, Mr. Cogill faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison, or five years if it is proven that he uploaded the songs for financial gain.

Criminal charges have been filed against uploaders of pirated music at least once before, in a 2006 federal case in Tennessee.

In a 2006 Tennessee case involving two men who uploaded unreleased Bryan Adams songs to the Internet, which the RIAA believes is the only other criminal case involving prereleased songs uploaded online, the men received sentences of house arrest and two years' probation. Federal law changed in 2005, making it a crime to upload copyright work to the Internet.

A post on antiquiet.com Wednesday afternoon said Mr. Cogill likely would "be back fighting the good fight from his couch by this evening." A post earlier this week from Mr. Cogill sought recommendations on lawyers.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121989199992378827