'Oink' music pirate was just brushing up his computer skills, court hears

Alan Ellis, 26, was studying at Teesside University and living in shared digs when he created the Oink website in 2004.

When police raided his terraced home three years later, they found almost 300,000 (186,000) in his accounts and the site had 200,000 members, Teesside Crown Court has heard.

He entered the witness box to begin his defence, explaining that he set up the website to improve his skills because he was unhappy with his "outdated" software engineering honours degree.

He used time before he started a placement with a large chemical firm to write the code needed to set up Oink.

The jury has heard it allowed members to find other people on the web who were prepared to share files - allowing users to get hold of music for free. Some even got hold of albums by top-name artists before they were released - damaging the music industry, the jury was told.

Users were required to make a donation to be able to invite friends to join the site, the court heard.

Barrister Alex Stein, defending, asked why he set up the site. Ellis, in a short-sleeved shirt and a tie, replied: "It was to further my skills. To better my skills for employability."

Originally, the site was hosted on his home computer, in his bedroom, he said. By 2007, it had moved to a commercial server in Amsterdam which was needed to carry so much internet traffic, the court heard.

Ellis, who was born in Leeds and grew up in south Manchester, studying A-levels in Cheadle, said there was no intention to defraud copyright holders. Ellis, of Grange Road, Middlesbrough, denies conspiracy to defraud.