A convicted software pirate has been handed an unusual punishment.

The man, named only as Jakub F, will be spared having to pay hefty damages – as long as a film denouncing piracy he was made to produce gets 200,000 views.

He came to the out-of-court settlement with a host of firms whose software he pirated after being convicted by a Czech court. In return, they agreed not to sue him.

The 30-year-old was also given a three-year suspended sentence.

The criminal court decided that any financial penalty would have to be decided either in civil proceedings or out of court.

The firms, which included Microsoft, HBO Europe, Sony Music and Twentieth Century Fox, estimated that the financial damage amounted to thousands of pounds, with Microsoft alone valuing its losses at 5.7m Czech Crowns (£148,000).

But the Business Software Alliance (BSA), which represented Microsoft, acknowledged that Jakub could not pay that sum.
Instead, the companies said they would be happy to receive only a small payment and his co-operation in the production of the video.

But, if the video did not reach the target, the spokesman said that – “in theory” – the firms would have grounds to bring a civil case for damages.