Anne Muir, the first Scot person to be convicted for illegally sharing music files online, has been given three years probation.

The 58-year-old, who is also suffering from depression, admitted distributing £54,000 worth of copyrighted music files by making them available to others via a peer-to-peer file sharing application.

At an earlier hearing Muir pleaded guilty to a contravention of section 107(1)(e) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Her activities were tracked by BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) and IFPI (International Federation for the Phonographic Industry), initially and then the Strathclyde Police searched her house, said a BBC report.

They seized computer equipment and found 7,493 digital music files and 24,243 karaoke files - worth an estimated £54,792 in the mainstream market.

Annie’ lawyer Lorenzo Alonzi argued that his client had just tried to build up her self-esteem after suffering from depression for years, and that she had no intention of any financial gain.

Mirian Watson, district procurator fiscal for Ayr, said, Intelligence gathered by BPI and IFPI revealed that Anne Muir was a prolific user of a particular file sharing network based in the UK.Illegally flouting copyright laws is tantamount to theft and not only deprives legitimate companies and artists of earnings, but also undermines the music industry as a whole.We will continue to work effectively with law enforcement in this area and to apply our robust prosecution policy.

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