Winny Creator Found Innocent

isamu-kaneko-innocent-in-osaka.jpg

In a surprise decision, an Osaka court has found Isamu Kaneko, the creator of Japan’s hugely popular anonymous P2P file-sharing program Winny, innocent of all charges.

The 39-year-old computer scientist was initially accused of being an accomplice to the crimes of the users of his software, despite having no contact with them or any culpability other than being the developer of the software.

In 2006 he was found guilty of abetting copyright infringement and fined $15,000, with the prosecution seeking a year in prison.

However, he appealed the verdict, and the Osaka High Court finally reversed the previous decision and proclaimed him innocent. A presiding judge ruled that “merely being aware of the possible infringing uses does not constitute abetting the crimes.”

Although the logic of his prosecution would suggest that the likes of Microsoft should be held responsible for enabling criminal activity through the use of its Windows operating system, software which is found in the possession of most computer using criminals, most observers thought a guilty verdict a foregone conclusion.

Via Sankei.


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    Avatar of echelon64
    Comment by echelon64
    00:32 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    So Mr.47 got off huh? Does that mean a new version of winny is in the works?

    He does look like an Asian Clark Kent!

    Comment by Anonymous
    01:33 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    did the 3 years of lawsuits instead of midnight snacking infront of the computer make him look so damn..good like that?

    Comment by Anonymous
    06:20 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    A tool is a tool. No matter how helpful and positive an invention is, some person will find a way to use it for harm. No matter how dangerous or harmful something is, someone will find a way to use it for good. It all depends on the user.

    Children's cold medicine could relieve you of your cold. Or it could be used for murder or suicide. Too many of those pills and someone is gonna die.
    Fire & gas (whether by themselves or together) = VERY dangerous, VERY harmful. You could burn or kill yourself, or someone else. But look how many helpful applications we have for them!

    Comment by j
    09:10 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    guns don't kill ppl. ppl kill ppl

    Comment by Anonymous
    10:50 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    NO! Pencils misspell words.
    Spoons make Rossie O'Donnell/Roseanne Barr fat.
    LOL

    Comment by Anonymous
    04:07 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Daily Planet headlines:

    "Clark Kent beats frivolous criminal charges. Luthor annoyed."

    Comment by Anonymous
    23:11 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    “merely being aware of the possible infringing uses does not constitute abetting the crimes.”

    True, or else we're all guilty of abetting Mugabe's crimes.

    Comment by Anonymous
    20:54 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I lol'd we should lock up inventors, all companies in the computer industry because they allow people to do it.

    Logic failed is fail.

    Comment by Anonymous
    Comment by Anonymous
    20:45 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Winny creator is not amused

    Comment by Anonymous
    Comment by Anonymous
    22:24 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Japanese Clark Kent, GO!

    Comment by MusicalNote
    00:56 10/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    THAT is a handsome man. As another poster said (in a way, I'm far to lazy to scroll down a couple of posts to quote properly) he looks like he gets shit done.

    Comment by Anonymous
    04:01 12/01/2010 # ! Neutral (0)

    This is like trying to jail the man that invented the gun, only becayse many people got killed by one...

    Comment by Anonymous
    21:50 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Now if Sweden authorities were equally fair to TPB's four...

    Avatar of Icy-nee-san
    Comment by Icy-nee-san
    11:28 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Osaka?!

    *Thinks back to Azumanga Diaoh*

    Comment by Anonymous
    14:05 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    That dude gets shit done like a boss.

    13:57 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Oh my god! Look at the face of that guy behind him! X3

    Avatar of Titolion
    Comment by Titolion
    13:52 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    FOR GREAT JUSTICE!!!

    Comment by Anonymous
    13:44 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Amazing. This is a nice message for freedom and liberty. I was hoping for this, and kind of knew it would end up like this, because as was mentioned in the article. All he did was make the app, and you can choose whether you'd want to share with everyone or not.

    Avatar of Y10NRDY
    Comment by Y10NRDY
    14:12 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Microsoft SHOULD be held responsible for frustrating the public at large with inferior under-supported and otherwise malnourished operating systems.

    P2P creator should have a bronze statue of himself riding a saber-toothed tiger and holding a broadsword erected in the middle of akiba.

    Comment by Anonymous
    00:14 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    +1 as in Triple Combo!

    Comment by Anonymous
    14:56 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    under-supported? Linux for lulz?

    Comment by Anonymous
    Comment by Anonymous
    14:18 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    he looks evil like the guy in GTO. You know the teacher who have a crush on Asuka.

    Comment by Anonymous
    Comment by Anonymous
    16:02 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    GTO, Great Teacher Onizuka.

    Comment by Anonymous
    18:08 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Suguru Teshigawara

    Comment by Anonymous
    Comment by Anonymous
    13:12 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    What's this? A court that makes a fair and logical decision? Why can't we get these in the US?

    Comment by Anonymous
    23:42 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Logic has a price in the US law system.

    Avatar of Omochikaeri
    Comment by Omochikaeri
    17:10 11/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    > A court that makes a fair and logical decision? Why can't we get these in the US?
    > Why can't we get these in the US?
    > US

    You answered your own question.

    Comment by Anonymous
    Avatar of Sylar
    Comment by Sylar
    14:44 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Do much corporate interest and money depended judges to get such fairness in the US.

    Comment by MasterInfamous
    13:11 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Could've sworn he was Chinese.

    Comment by Anonymous
    21:28 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    I'M ON TO YOU, MASTERINFAMOUS!

    Comment by Anonymous
    13:52 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    He could be from anywhere, but I swear he IS NOT Asian...

    Comment by Anonymous
    18:49 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    well now isn't that obvious...

    Avatar of EyE
    Comment by EyE
    Comment by Anonymous
    13:11 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    GOOD. P2P is never wrong.

    Comment by Anonymous
    14:37 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    ^QFT, mate. QFT... ^_^

    Comment by Anonymous
    15:51 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    「間違っていたのはP2Pじゃない、世界のほうだっ!!」

    - ル〇-シュ(18歳・男・エリア11)

    Comment by Anonymous
    18:33 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Rough TL: What's wrong is not the P2P (system), but the world's law.

    Comment by Anonymous
    00:37 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Correction there mate:

    "It is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so."

    W.Shakespeare

    from: Hamlet Act 2

    Comment by Anonymous
    21:56 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    there never right or wrong, just thinking make it so

    Avatar of kajunbowser
    Comment by kajunbowser
    21:19 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Agreed. +9000

    Comment by SnooSnoo
    19:20 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    You forgot the second part.

    Rurushu(Lelouch) (18 Years Old. Area 11)

    Avatar of Palmtop Tsundere
    Comment by Palmtop Tsundere
    13:10 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    All he did was create a tool. He cannot be held responsable for how people use this tool.

    Comment by Anonymous
    Comment by Anonymous
    17:31 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    All I did was invent the nuclear bomb, I cannot be held responsible for why millions are dead!

    Comment by Anonymous
    04:09 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    All I did was invent the corndog, I cannot be held responsible for the delicious choking deaths.

    Comment by Anonymous
    21:31 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Remember dynamite? It's was made for mining, and look what the military use it for.

    Comment by Anonymous
    00:55 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Remember the government, it was made to lead people and look what the politicians use it for.

    Comment by Anonymous
    02:24 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Remember Sankaku, it was made to be a blog and look what Equality use it for.

    Comment by Anonymous
    21:44 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Remember the military, it was made to protect citizens and look what the government use it for.

    Comment by Anonymous
    20:01 11/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Remember Equality Now? It was made to combat sexism but look at what women use it for.

    Comment by Anonymous
    13:53 21/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    WIN anon 20:01

    Comment by Anonymous
    04:13 15/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    ccccccombo breaker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Comment by MusicalNote
    00:53 10/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    The person at fault is the one who USES the tool. If someone used a hammer to smash a guy's head in you arrest the man that used the hammer, not the one that made it.

    Avatar of Chris
    Comment by Chris
    10:06 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Yeah 17:31 Anon, we should put the scientists who worked on the Manhattan project in jail! Whichever ones are still alive anyway.

    Hurrrrrrrrrrrr

    Comment by Schrobby
    23:07 10/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Why? They were too dumb to build the bomb, it was stolen from the nazis.

    Avatar of kajunbowser
    Comment by kajunbowser
    21:18 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Oppenheimer ftw.

    Avatar of LunarSD
    Comment by LunarSD
    18:14 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Also truth.

    Though your sarcastic attempt at phrasing this to sound like creating a tool is somehow the same act as using it gave me a nice laugh.

    One person's human curiosity caused the invention of the bomb, but it takes another person's human curiosity to cause the use of the bomb.

    It takes 2 to tango, as they say.

    Also, the bomb is a tool that turns off human curiosity.

    Seems like a fair, self-regulating system to me.

    Avatar of LunarSD
    Comment by LunarSD
    04:28 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Semantics, but I generally agree.

    The only exception would be if they were using the bomb in a desert or some such for research purposes.

    Though one would hope we've learned basically all there really is to learn already, and there no longer is any legitimate reason to set one of those things off.

    -

    Anyway, if someone did attempt to nuke some place, I get the feeling that this Isamu Kaneko character (the guy this article is about) would dress in spandex and fly halfway across the globe in an instant, grab the bomb by hand and launch it off into space for us.

    Seriously, that guy looks like he gets shit done.

    Comment by Anonymous
    04:02 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    "but it takes another person's human curiosity to cause the use of the bomb"

    That is not human curiosity, that is malicious intent. Its invention could pass as curiosity but its use cannot be forgiven...

    Comment by Anonymous
    04:34 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    too bad had we not nuked Japan, they would have been invaded by both americans and the russians, millions of casualties one the allies side, and millions more casualties on the japanese side. Japan would have been split into a communist and non communist part ike germany, and anime and all these other japanese things you love today wouldnt be around

    Comment by Anonymous
    04:07 11/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Just forget the "sides" and the "ifs", no mater who is the enemy, I (or most of the people) can't imagine myself giving the order to drop those bombs on all that people... what "would be" is by no means an excuse to this massacre.

    Comment by Anonymous
    18:10 11/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    You are comparing apples and oranges, using only the "tool" concept. On top of that, you are comparing an amoral computer programme with a weapon; one out of many, which suggests that the particular weapon was chosen more for shock effect than a logical comparison. Since sensationalism has now been revealed as the goal rather than a fair comparison, the arguement is false, illogical and specious.

    BTW, if you refer to the nuclear weapons, your logic is doubly flawed:
    -the weapon had only been used twice in the 65 years since its creation; how does this compare to blades, slug throwers, poison gas, etc.?
    -whenever the weapon has been 'improved,' at least in modern times, it was either by detonating a real weapon underground or by using computer simulation. How often have the previous listed weapons 'improved' in computer simulation, rather than applying it to its intended victim?
    -the weapon, in its two uses, resulted in the deaths of 120,000 humans (I will not go into future deaths due to ionization radiation). For only being used twice, that makes the weapon 'cleaner' that the incindiary bombings of Dresden, Coventry or Tokyo; whereas the death toll due to the above listed weapons has exceeded the millions in each category, with no sign of letting up.

    And they say nuclear war would be (future indeterminate - could be - is better) unrestrained

    Comment by Anonymous
    13:51 21/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    a guy was bashed to death with a toaster, FUCK YOU TOASTER + GUY WHO CREATED TOASTERS!

    Comment by Anonymous
    18:10 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    In that case the responsable for the millions of dead is the jerk who pressed the launch button. Probably the president of USA.

    Comment by Anonymous
    18:17 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    All I did was rape a loli, I can't... oh shit!

    Comment by Anonymous
    01:32 09/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    All I did was to put in the word "paedophile" in the Oxford dictionary, I cannot be held responsible for why lolis are getting raeped

    Comment by Nin
    20:25 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Anon :36 makes me lol.

    Avatar of Omochikaeri
    Comment by Omochikaeri
    17:09 11/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    Correct, because in this scenario it is "it couldn't be helped."

    Comment by Anonymous
    19:36 08/10/2009 # ! Neutral (0)

    "it can't be help" is the only reason and an end you can ever use for that scenario. NEVER. forget. that.





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