Protip: Don’t create a Web site offering over 1,000 DS games for illegal download unless you’rereallysure you won’t get caught. Yoshiaki Asagiriwasn’t so careful, and now a Kyoto District court has brought a most swift and brutal retribution down upon him.
For breaking Japanese copyright law, Asagiri has been sentenced to two years in prison, and has been slapped with two fines worth $21,000 and $75,000. The presiding judge said that what Asagiri did “tramples” over the efforts of those who made the games he was ripping off. Fair enough, but I never did work out how you’re meant to pay off a massive fine if you’re in prison.
What do you make of this ruling? Was the judge too harsh, or was this Asagiri’s fault for robbing the DS library so blatantly?
