Online pirates face 10 years jail

The Government is planning to ramp up the punishment for online copyright infringement after revealing it wants to give courts the power to jail miscreants for up to 10 years.
The move would mean that people accused of uploading copyrighted films, TV shows and music online for people to download would see their potential sentance increase from the current maximum of two years to a decade.
The Government wants to bring online copyright infringement in line with physical copyright infringement . In the 2005 Gowers Review, it was recommended that the penalty should be increased because “the intention and impact of physical and online infringement are the same”.
However, despite the Government consultation, it did not change its policy of only imprisoning serious offenders. Instead, it increased the statutory maximum fine from £5,000 to £50,000. Since then, the maximum fine has been made unlimited.
The report, ‘Penalty Fair?’, released in March 2015 claimed the vast majority of online copyright offenders have links to further criminality and that they look to make money out of their activities online through advertising or subscription fees.
The Government said that it expects that increasing the maximum sentences available, would “have a deterrent effect on criminals seeking to make money in this way”.