Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Intellectual Property Law Blogs -> Threat Level

Intellectual Property Law

: Threat Level

Lawyer: Guns N' Roses Uploader to Walk

By Ryan Singel, Kevin Poulsen, Sarah Lai Stirland, Kim Zetter, and David Kravets

The lawyer for Kevin Cogill, the Los Angeles man charged with uploading nine unreleased Guns N' Roses tracks from the upcoming Chinese Democracyalbum, said Thursday his client's plea deal with prosecutors does not require any prison time.

"We're looking at straight probation as a result of taking this deal," attorney David Kaloyanides said in a telephone interview. Probation, which includes minimal restrictions, is usually a year, he said.

Federal authorities acknowledgedthe dealMonday, but provided no details.

With the assistance of the Recording Industry Association of America, the 27-year-old Cogill was arrested last summer and charged with a felony carrying a maximum 5-year term. The authorities, which said he confessed, subsequently reduced the criminal copyright charge to a misdemeanor, exposing Cogill to a maximum year of confinement.

Cogill is accused of uploading the songs to his music site, antiquiet. Kaloyanides would not say whether, under the deal, Cogill would divulge where he got the tracks.

"We have agreed in a very limited fashion to provide information," he said. "We're still working with the government."

A plea date has been set for Dec. 8. Cogill remains free. The federal judge overseeing the case, however, is not bound by the agreement.

The album is expected to be releasedaround Thanksgiving.

See Also:

• Guns N' Roses Uploader to Plead Guilty
• Beckerman: RIAA's 'Vexatious' Charge Reeks With 'Falsehood and ...
• 10 Years Later, Misunderstood DMCA Is the Law That Saved the Web
• Vote: Who Should Be the First U.S. Copyright Czar?
• Hollywood, Courts Shuttering U.S.-Based 'Infringing' Websites
• Retrial Date Set in RIAA v. Thomas
• MPAA Already Lobbying Obama
• Judge Rejects 'Making Available' Defense, Orders Teen File Sharer ...

Full post as published by Threat Level on November 13, 2008 (boomark / email).