A blogger has been arrested for breaking copyright laws by posting copies of songs from the soon-to-be-released Guns ‘n’ Roses album, Chinese Democracy.
Kevin Cogill, under the online alias “Skwerl”, has been charged with copyright violations after he uploaded nine of the album’s songs for downloading purposes.
"I always said that the more that Axl (Rose) and Geffen (Records) jerked around trying to figure out how to release this finally finished album that we've all been waiting over 13 years for, the greater the chances would be that it would slip out of a pressing plant or office somewhere and wind up in the hands of some a**hole with a blog,” Cogill wrote on his blog.
The FBI sent Cogill a cease-and-desist letter, but received an answer signed by the alias “Skwerl” saying the popularity of the uploads caused his website to crash.
Lawyers for Guns ‘n’ Roses argue the demand for the album is high, considering its 14-year production time, and the band has lost a lot of revenue. Cogill could possibly spend up to five years in prison.
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