Grandmother, 58, is internet music pirate

Published on Tuesday 10 May 2011 17:27

A GRANDMOTHER who illegally downloaded more than £54,000 worth of music has become the first person in Scotland to be convicted of file-sharing.

Anne Muir, 58, a nurse from Ayr, who was found with more than 30,000 illegally downloaded files on her computer, was caught following an investigation by the record industry.

However, with an estimated 7.7 million people across the UK illegally downloading music last year, experts believe the prosecution will be aimed as a warning to others and will not open the floodgates for a rush of new cases.

Muir, a mother-of-three and grandmother-of-eight, saw her home raided by Strathclyde Police on 27 June, 2008 after the force had been passed information by the BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) and the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry).

They found 7,493 digital music files and 24,243 karaoke files on her computer, worth 54,792, which Muir had been sharing with friends.

Each music file can be sold for 84 pence, while each karaoke file is worth about 2.

At Ayr Sheriff Court she pled guilty to a charge of distributing articles which she had reason to believe were copyrighted without a licence, and will now be sentenced on 31 May.

Lorenzo Alonzi, defending, said the auxiliary nurse at Ayr Hospital had used the network to build up her self-esteem after suffering from depression for a number of years.

He said: "It has to be stressed that this offence was not committed for any desire to make money.

"Mrs Muir was not in any way trying to distribute on a large scale. She had a very big quantity of these files because she was hoarding - a symptom of a severe obsessive personality disorder that she suffers from.

"She has for many years suffered from bouts of depression, which cause her to have extremely low self-esteem. Learning this new technology and picking up new skills gave her self-esteem a boost.

"But to be allowed into the network she had to have a certain number of files already.

"She suffers from an obsessive behaviour disorder, which has been heightened recently because of problems within her family and the stress of this case.

"The obsessive behaviour is the explanation for Mrs Muir having so many of these files. It causes her to hoard things.

"She has expressed genuine remorse for this and is severely embarrassed about it."

Speaking after the case, district procurator fiscal for Ayr, Mirian Watson, said: "Intelligence gathered by BPI and IFPI revealed that Anne Muir was a prolific user of a particular file sharing network based in the UK.

"Illegally flouting copyright laws is tantamount to theft and not only deprives legitimate companies and artists of earnings, but also undermines the music industry as a whole.

"We will continue to work effectively with law enforcement in this area and to apply our robust prosecution policy."Paul Motion, chairman of the Law Society of Scotland's technology committee, and partner at BTO Solicitors, said the industry may have wanted to make an example of Muir to deter other illegal downloaders.

He said: "I'm surprised it has taken so long to bring a case like this to court. File-sharing has been around since the late 1990s.

"The phonographic industry commissioned a report in 2010, Digital Music Nation, which estimated that the number of people in the UK illegally downloading music was 7.7 million.

"It also estimated that 1.2 billion tracks had been downloaded that year - the equivalent of a stack of CDs 74 miles high.

"The prosecution services don't have the resources to go after every file-sharer in Scotland."

However, he believes the prosecution - and the raid on Muir's home by police - will send out a strong message to other illegal downloaders.

"I assume they wanted to make an example of her," he said. "Another thing that may have an impact is the fact that search warrants were obtained for her home.

"If that is made known to parents and schools, that might make the most impact - not the penalty.

"If I was a parent I would not want my children to engage in an activity that would lead to a search warrant being issued."

Sheriff Jack McGowan deferred sentence until 31 May to obtain a psychological report.

Copyright crime

File-sharing is the process of distributing digital information, such as music, films or computer software. It is often done legally, but can also be illegal if breaching copyright.

Peer-to-peer is the sharing of information and files within a network of equals, where no individual is in charge of the group.

Copyright is the legal ownership of an idea or piece of work designed to protect the creator from theft and ensure that they earn money for their work.

Downloading is the transfer of a file - often an audio or visual file - from one computer to another. In cases of illegal downloading, it is the point where a crime is committed.