'Pirate' music site allowed 21 million downloads, court told

Alan Ellis, 26, was the founder of the Oink website which had around 200,000 members and allowed 21 million downloads before it was closed down in 2007. Teesside Crown Court heard that the site was free to join, by invitation only with members able to propose a friend, but users had to pay a donation of at least £5. Peter Makepeace, prosecuting, told the jury it was not a case against “some poor minnow who has taped a record one night and circulated it to their friends”. The site was set up in May 2004 and hosted in Norway, but switched to Amsterdam eight months later after the music industry asked it to cease. Mr Makepeace said when the website was taken down, there were approximately 200,000 active members with access to around 200,000 audio files. Police found donations from around the world in several of Mr Ellis's Paypal accounts, amounting to almost 300,000 US dollars, the court heard.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6946708/Pirate-music-site-allowed-21-million-downloads-court-told.html