I meant on the court order you mentioned.

Per the 2012 appellate court decision that freed him, "his conduct did not constitute an offense under either statute" for which he was charged. It's hard to find a clearer statement of innocence than that -- which is why the judge ordered that his conviction be reversed, and that he be immediately released.

You're confusing the issues. The 2012 decision was a federal court, the 2014 decision was a NY State court, where he was charged under a different law. The two are unrelated.

In a related note, the only reason he was freed in 2012 was because the system from where he copied the code wasn't developed for interstate and/or international purposes - it had nothing to do with the code being unimportant.

That was considered an oversight of the law, and Congress in response of his appeal has since changed it, so had he done the same now, he wouldn't have been released.