For many YouTubers, their first 200k video views are a step along the road to online stardom. For a Czech man called Jakub F, it could be the key to avoiding a big fine for copyright infringement.
“I had to start this site, because I spent eight years spreading pirated software and got caught,” he explained on a website set up to promote a YouTube video in which he apologises for his behaviour. If the video reaches 200k views, he will avoid a hefty damages bill, after he was found guilty of copyright infringement.
TorrentFreak reports that he struck the deal with rights holders including Microsoft, HBO, Sony Music and Twentieth Century Fox to produce and promote his anti-piracy mea culpa on YouTube. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2015
