Major prison sentence for music pirate in Chile

IFPI Latin America Flash

On October 24th, a Chilean circuit Judge in Santiago, Chile sentenced a music and film pirate to an effective prison sentence of four years and six months in jail. Specifically, the sentence covered one count of tax evasion which mandated a sentence of three years and another count of IPR violation that called for an additional prison sentence of 18 months.

The initial charges stemmed from an investigation in 2005 developed by the local anti-piracy group in Chile (Apdif Chile) and pursued by Chile's Federal Department of Investigation. The defendant was arrested in a laboratory while replicating illicit music and film products. The lab contained a total of 2,988 recorded CD-Rs/DVD-Rs, six burners, a scanner and three printers. Most of this pirate material was destined for one of Santiago's well-known flea markets - La Persa Bio-Bio.

The defendant was a recidivist pirate, something that exacerbated the length of his sentence. IFPI Chile hopes this case will serve as a sentencing example that should be emulated throughout the region. No doubt it will serve as a deterrent against future IPR violations for this pirate and his immediate colleagues.

IFPI extends its appreciation to Chile's Bureau of Investigation, the Metropolitan Regional Prosecutors Office and Apdif Chile for their work on this excellent case.

For more information please contact Emilio Garcia at egarcia@ifpi.org