Infinite Path

With the news that Kevin Coghill has just been sentenced to two months of home confinement for publishing nine leaked Guns N’ Roses songs last year, is this really a fair punishment for someone who is not actually at the source of the crime?

For Kevin Coghill, regardless of whether or not he knew about the legal implications of his misdemeanour, this punishment – and the publicity created from the court case surrounding it – is a big wake-up call for him; and for others watching on who may have done exactly the same thing without realising the possible ramifications.

The music industry has been battling against the free music which is now readily available all over the internet and it now seems that the authorities are listening to the voices campaigning for tougher sanctions. The irony is, in this case, that Guns N’ Roses have probably fared quite well from the publicity generated from this particular instance of music piracy. The case has lasted a long time, there are lots of stories about it, and Kevin Coghill even has to appear in an anti-piracy commercial.

One can see why the music industry is campaigning, and why the authorities feel it necessary to make examples of people who have blatantly flouted the laws on music downloads, but in this case is he really the one to blame? Or is it in fact the person who originally leaked the songs who should be punished?

The internet offers pretty much everything for users around the world but, unlike most things in life, it is not really governed and, as such, is it the case that people are unsure of where the boundaries are?

Charlotte Cook, Head of Search Marketing at Infinite Path Ltd, thinks “This story opens up the dangerous and controversial issue of responsibility with regards to publishing online which has become all too evident today with the debate over whether TechCrunch should publish confidential Twitter documents. TechCrunch maintain that they’re simply publishing material leaked by third parties, with whom the unethical element of the process lies. Surely, then, the punishment in this instance should be imposed upon the source of the leak rather than Cogill, who simply posted the information online?”

It is highly likely that these cases will continue to make the headlines until such a time that the way music is purchased and consumed changes fundamentally.