First Canadian to be sent to jail for pirating movies, but narrowly avoids much harsher recently enacted anti-piracy legislation that could’ve resulted in up to 5yrs in prison.
If you’ve been a member of the P2P world for at least a few years then you’re well aware of the illustrious body of work compiled by the infamous Canadian Gérémi Adam, 28yo, better known as maVen. He was well known for producing some of the highest quality CAMs around.
A few days ago Adam was sentenced to nine weeks behind bars plus 100 hours of community service. He’s also prohibited from entering any movie theater for two years.
It’s the first of its kind sentence under the country’s Copyright Act , though since then much harsher penalties have been introduced.
The new law (Bill C-59) makes recording a movie without permission a crime punishable by two years in jail, and taping a film for future sale or rental now carries a maximum five-year jail term.
Specifically, it reads:
- recording for personal use of a movie shown in a theatre – liable to imprisonment for not more than two years; and
- recording for commercial purposes of a movie shown in a theatre – liable to imprisonment for not more than five years.
He had already pleaded guilty to two counts, under the Copyright Act, for distributing copies of the Hollywood films “Invincible” and “How to Eat Fried Worms” on the Internet under the alias maVen in 2006.
He was nabbed once again in 2008 while recording the movie “Street Kings” at another movie theatre, and was charged a third time, this time under the revised Criminal Code.
Adam’s attorney, Richard Brouillard, told the court his client had a difficult past and noted several times during the trial that Adam made virtually no profit from his illicit activities. Instead, he devoted himself to pirating only because he wanted to become an Internet celebrity.
“(The FBI) knew the movies were coming from Montreal. That’s why they worked hard to grab him,” he added.
Canadian prosecutors were happy with the ruling.
“I think it’s a strong message that if you try to do something like Geremi Adam did, you will face the consequences. You could go to jail,” said crown prosecutor Josee Belanger.
The game of whac-a-mole continues.
