Man Gets 7 Years for Software Piracy 296
mytrip writes to mention a C|Net article about the largest sentence for software piracy ever handed down by a U.S. court. Nathan Peterson of Los Angeles has been levied with an enormous fine after selling millions of dollars worth of software between 2003 and 2005. "U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III on Friday ordered Peterson to pay restitution of more than $5.4 million. Peterson pleaded guilty in December in Alexandria, Va., to two counts of copyright infringement for illegally copying and selling more than $20 million in software. Justice Department and industry officials called the case one of the largest involving Internet software piracy ever prosecuted. "
Serves him right. (Score:-1, Informative)
Re:Sold $20 returns $5.4 = Profit! ? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Sold $20 returns $5.4 = Profit! ? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The law (Score:2, Informative)
In Argentina, most of the above middle-class population (I'd say 10-15% max) does that to avoid paying local taxes. They get foreign credit cards (in foreign banks) because Argentines have mostly european ancestors (therefore citizenship if applied), and avoid paying taxes in large purchaes (electronics specially).
However the government has been cracking down recently, not allowing cheaters to get out of the country if they dont pay taxes (they check you before you cross the border to Uruguay, a popular wealthy tourist resort). They also put signs in shopping mall bathrooms saying "You will be caught" and so on.
The same in the US, I mean if you can get a foreign bank account, it is a good idea to do so to keep, say 5-10% of your monthly income in there and lie saying it goes to something else. Believe me, you will always need money for a divorce, car crash, something bad happening in your life, etc.
Keep it safe, and quiet. The same concept goes for almost anything in life, why give away information? why give away posible vulnerabilities?. It is a good practice to save your money early, start early and work your ass off. Make sure nobody knows that you have more money than you really do. If they can screw you, they will (in life, generally).
Worse yet... (Score:5, Informative)
... his website ibackups.net [ibackups.net] has been defaced.
(serves him right)
Re:Sweet deal (Score:3, Informative)
Re: Especially since (Score:5, Informative)
Most states have extremely strict laws regarding the pawn trade; and most pawn shops today are extremely careful concerning their business practices.
Pawn shops in Florida (as an example) are highly regulated and are required to work with both state and local authorities. Forms (including make, model and serial numbers) of merchandise are filled out in triplicate and provided to the local police. When make, model and serial are not applicable (as in the case of jewelry), exact measurements (in both carat and composition) of stones and and metals are recorded as is a precise description of said piece. All of the above are matched against local and state stolen item reports on a weekly to monthly basis. (I use Florida as my example, as that is the state in which I worked; I gladly tie that in with others, as the National Pawnbrokers Association allowed me the opportunity to meet and speak with pawnbrokers from all over the country -- 99% of which followed the same practices).
Often, in the case of theft, the Pawn Shop owner is the one that actually loses out in the case of stolen merchandise; as the property is then pulled into state custody as evidence and eventually returned to its owner.
The pawn trade itself is, by and large, nothing more than a lending mechanism for the lower (to lower-middle class) establishment. Afterall, please tell me a single bank that's going to loan Bob Whoever a c-note to cover his insurance payment while waiting for a drywall job to pay up. Granted, it charges a higher interest rate, but even that is regulated in most states.
I might suggest you take a look at the business models of both Cash America and Value Pawn as an example of how the industry has changed. Personally, I think the indy shop has more in the way of value for the lendee, but I mention them only to counter the "dark and stinky" shop notion that seems to surround the pawn industry.
So, if you want to cite a comparison between immoral activities (such as the active sale of pirated software and something else), why not point the finger at professional lobyists, criminal defense lawyers and/or telemarketing firms?
Re:Wait... (Score:5, Informative)
*Actually, every industry in any way affected by piracy/counterfeit goods does exactly the same thing.
Re:Cause of piracy, anyone? (Score:3, Informative)
Mainly because it never existed in the first place. Older people (like me) tend to talk of the "good ol' days" because the human mind represses bad memories and enhances good ones. For example, a pack of smokes in the 70's cost $0.50, but by the same token in 1976 I was taking home $60/week.
I do agree with the population thing but how do you stop people breeding without resorting to a totalitarian state?
Does it? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Cause of piracy, anyone? (Score:2, Informative)
What? I think in most states the license fee is on the order of $50.
A minister will usually charge something between $100 and $200.
If you desire more, you are so entitled, but you should try to remain within your means.
Re:Sold $20 returns $5.4 = Profit! ? (Score:3, Informative)
Firstly, he has the disclaimer at the bottom of the home page:
This service is designed for current legal owners of the software listed at this site.
Then if you move away from the home page, you get a different note:
iBackups.net uses the latest secure 128 bit encryption when placing all orders so you may consider your order process secure and as safe as it can be!
(because nobody ever reads the home page in deatail. you're busy looking for what you want!)
A typical sale is for a file download, and for an extra 20 bucks you get a CD in the mail.
Lastly, there is pressure for you to buy ASAP and not research the matter any further wth:
Special Offer: Save BIG when you purchase from our site within 10 minutes of your first visit!
Grump.
This is from june 15 2004 http://web.archive.org/web/*/ibackups.net [archive.org]
The following is from his about us page (FAQ)
We offer a service for our software titles that NO ONE else offers and that is instant downloads on ALL of our software!
We give you the option to have a disc included in your order!
The download servers we use are TOP OF THE LINE! A lot of companies will use cheap servers to save money, we use Dell Dual XEON servers connected DIRECTLY to the Internet backbone. Not once have we capped on our bandwidth, this means you can download as fast as your ISP allows you to!
We guarantee that you will not find a cheaper price on the software titles at our site! If you do, we will beat that price, or refund you the difference within 30 days of your purchase so there is absolutely NO WAY you can go wrong with us
Civil vs Criminal Copyright Infringement (Score:3, Informative)
Yes, this guy is a "criminal", while the "average pirate" that downloads warez (and distributes copies to friends) is guilty of a "civil" infraction of copyright infringement. Unless this "average pirate" does this for more than $1000 worth of software (and music, movies, games) in the span of 180 days - at that point the infraction becomes "criminal" rather than "civil". So watch how much you pirate if you want to make sure that you stay out of the "criminal" category. (See http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html#506 [copyright.gov]
BTW, it appears that when distributing multiple copies to friends (and by "friends", I assume you mean real friends, not just anyone that happens to connect to your computer via P2P) each copy counts towards that $1000 threshold. For example, let's say a particular program costs $250. If you download a pirated copy for yourself (that's one illegal copy) then distribute it to three friends (that's three more illegal copies), then you've participated in the illegal distribution of 4 copies, for a total of $1000, which gets you into the "criminal" category (and making the program available to millions over P2P would get you into the "criminal" category with the quickness).