[3] Alan Ellis was tried for conspiracy to defraud at Teesside Crown Court, the first person in the UK to be prosecuted for illegal file-sharing, and found not guilty on 15 January 2010.

[8][9][10] Jeremy Banks, head of the IFPI's Internet Anti-Piracy Unit, opined that OiNK was central to the illegal distribution of pre-release music, and that the site had leaked over 60 major album releases in 2007.

[5] The shut-down was covered in media worldwide mainly based on IFPI, BPI and Cleveland Police's press releases and original BBC news footage of the arrest of Ellis.

[11] The British and Dutch Pirate Parties issued a joint statement condemning the actions as retaliatory, questioning the ethics of choreographing it and letting representatives of the alleged victims participate in the investigation.

TechCrunch wrote that while links to pre-release albums definitely appeared on OiNK early it was unlikely that the site's members were actually responsible for these releases and claim this shows how poorly the scene is understood.

The sixth, OiNK's administrator Alan Ellis, had bail extended four times until 10 September 2008, when he was finally charged with conspiracy to defraud.

[24] A further defendant, also charged with a copyright infringement offence, pleaded not guilty and was set for trial along with the administrator of the site, Alan Ellis.

[22] The CPS took the decision to continue the prosecution against the final OiNK defendant, Matthew Wyatt, despite their failure to secure a conviction against Ellis.

David Cook later moved to Manchester-based firm Pannone Solicitors, and defends clients in cyber crime prosecutions nationally.

Reznor also criticised legal music download sites such as iTunes, due to "DRM, low bit rate, etc.