Online piracy is something widely practiced these days, but things might change in the future, if we take into consideration the adoption of harsher laws regarding online “criminals.” These days, punishments have gone from simple fines to months or years in prison.

In June last year, the FBI filed a criminal complaint against Jorge Romero for uploading copyright material to a public network for commercial distribution (after the first four episodes of “24” appeared on LiveDigital.com and YouTube.com).

In May last year, Chan Nai-ming was found guilty of distributing three Hollywood films by a BitTorrent client. He lost his appeal and was jailed for three months for pirating Daredevil, Miss Congeniality and Red Planet.

This May, Barry Gitards, 25, was found guilty of criminal copyright infringement and sentenced to 5 years in prison, after the group he was part of, the Apocalypse Production Crew (APC) was found responsible for distributing everything from music files, to movies and video games.

Chuck Rosenberg, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said according to PC World that music piracy is categorized as stealing, and therefore, no one should do it, unless they want to end up in a federal prison.

The Gitards trial was part of an effort to target anyone who violates the NET ACT. The act refers to infringements on copyrights for financial gains, the illegal distribution for music within a six month period and the distribution of any pre-released content.

It’s not a joke anymore, and authorities got really serious as illegal internet activities took vast proportions. Everything from spamming to illegal sharing will be punished with more than just a verbal reprimand.