Translated:The creator of Winny was found guilty.

[Jason]

Former Tokyo University graduate assistant, Kaneko Isami, who invented the p2p file sharing program "Winny" was put on trial at the Kyoto Distinct Court on the 13th. He was charged with "violating copyright laws and not ceasing distribution even after realizing that it damages copyright holders' profits." However, because he didn't create the program with the intention to damage the copyright holders, nor did he gain anything economically, he is fined for 1.5 million yen and one year of prosecutor penal servitude.

It was a considering factor of the judicial decision that the illegal used of the software will affect future technological development.

According to the judicial decision, the last version of winny was available on September 2003, which at that time, defendant Kaneko already knew his program harmed the copyrights' holders' yield. Two males, one from Takasaki City, Gunma prefecture and one from Matsuyama City, who were guilty of violating copyrights by uploading a total of 28 games and movies including titles like "Super Mario Advance" and "Beautiful Mind," were issued the same sentence of one year prosecutor penal servitude.

The primary judgment is based on case-to-case situation, since the value of Winny itself as a technology is valuable. It is believed that Winny is important and can be used in many different areas and that the principle itself should been neutral. However, it is the action of providing it to the society for unlawful usage that makes it illegal.

Translated from Asahi.com: http://www.asahi.com/national/update...612130126.html