Sacrificing Australians
Yesterday, an Australian, Hew Griffith was sentenced to more than a year in jail by an American court for setting up a software piracy ring. There is no question that Griffith broke the law - he pleaded guilty to distributing pirated software.
However, the case is extremely disturbing because Griffith did not engage in piracy in America. He did it from his home in NSW, Australia. However, because Griffith pirated software made by American companies, because the US government is extremely anxious to suck up to the powerful copyright lobby and the Australian government is extremely anxious to suck up to the similarly powerful American government, Griffith was extradited to face trial in US, a country which he never visited.
Although he could have been prosecuted in Australia, the penalties are likely to have been much less severe. In US he faced up to 10 years jail plus substantial fines. As it was, he spent three years in jail in Australia while fighting the extradition request.
What is a triumph for the US prosecutors anxious to pander to the copyright lobby should be of grave concern to the Australian public. An Australian citizen was handed over to the US to be tried for something he did in Australia.
As Griffith's lawyer pointed out he "was sent to face charges in a foreign country where he has no knowledge of the legal system and no friends or family. He has been surrendered to a country where the penalties for such offences are much harsher."
This appears to be yet another example of our government's ignoble tradition of abandoning Australians to the tender mercies of the US authorities to score some political brownie points. It will be pleased that the US government was suitably impressed.
US Attorney Chuck Rosenberg said that "theft is theft" whether committed with a gun or a keyboard and that the US was prepared to play global cop again to catch " those inclined to steal intellectual property".
Yes, you heard it right - US intends to play "global cop" to ensure that its laws are enforced in every country of the world, including Australia. It doesn't matter that we didn't vote for the US Congress or the US President or otherwise submitted ourselves to US laws. It doesn't matter if we never set foot in US. They think that they can apply their laws to us. And our government is happy to let them do it.
While pondering the mistreatment of our citizens by our own government, it is useful to consider the warped sense of morality of the US Attorney Rosenberg. To suggest that distributing pirated software or movies (freely, without making any money out of it) is on the same level of criminality as robbing someone at gun-point is almost insane. Or, as Griffith's father succinctly put it "It's a load of crap".
The "victims" - being large US companies - claim that they lost some $60 million dollars takings. Their claim is based on the flawed assumption that those who download pirated content would have purchased it had it not been for Griffith's activities. It doesn't make sense. We all know that just because you take something when its free, doesn't mean you would have bought it if you had to pay for it.
But that is beside the point. Rosenberg's comment reveals an obsession with protecting American companies' IP rights, and this obsession is so strong that a presumably intelligent individual thinks nothing of comparing breach of copyright to violent crime. This is yet another reason why Australia (and indeed other countries) should not cooperate with US attempts to enforce their own laws around the globe.
Unfortunately, it is too late for Hew Griffith.
By the way, Anonymous Lefty has some excellent posts on issues of copyright - check them out if you are interested in the issue.
PS. Thanks to the contributors who pointed out that Hew is not an Australian citizen, but is a long-term permanent resident. The point remains the same, but accuracy is important!
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