A student who allegedly spread a computer virus was convicted Friday of copyright infringement in a case that has highlighted the lack of laws in Japan to police cyberspace.

Masato Nakatsuji, 24, a graduate student at Osaka Electro-Communication University, was charged with maliciously spreading a virus by embedding it in an image from a Japanese animation film he illegally copied and distributed.

The virus he allegedly used, the “Harada virus,” is one of Japan’s top viruses, and Nakatsuji’s arrest in January was the first in Japan involving the making or spreading of viruses.

Downloading the Harada virus and the image destroyed data on victims’ computers and moved information stored on their computers onto the Internet, according to police.

Nakatsuji was found guilty in Kyoto District Court Friday and received a suspended sentence of three years.

Police considered other charges, including damage to property and obstructing business, before deciding that copyright violation charges would hold up best in court.

Nakatsuji did not contest the charge, police say. His lawyers argued for a fine instead of jail time, saying it was unfair to penalize Nakatsuji more heavily because a virus was involved in the copyright violation, Japanese daily newspaper Mainichi reported.