Texas Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Selling Counterfeit Software Worth $1 Million on Web Sites

WASHINGTON - Timothy Kyle Dunaway, 24, of Wichita Falls, Texas, was sentenced today to 41 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor in Wichita Falls for selling counterfeit computer software through the Internet in violation of criminal copyright infringement laws, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks for the Northern District of Texas announced. The software sold by Dunaway had a combined retail value of more than $1 million.

Dunaway was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $810,257 in restitution. Judge O’Connor also ordered Dunaway to forfeit a Ferrari 348 TB and a Rolex watch purchased with illegal proceeds of the scheme. Dunaway pleaded guilty in Wichita Falls on Oct. 30, 2008, to one count of criminal copyright infringement for selling pirated business software through the Internet.

According to court documents, from July 2004 through May 2008, Dunaway operated approximately 40 Web sites that sold a large volume of downloadable counterfeit software without authorization from the copyright owners. Dunaway admitted he operated computer servers in Vienna, Austria and Malaysia. Agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), working in cooperation with foreign law enforcement, seized Dunaway’s international computer servers. According to court documents, Dunaway promoted his illicit scheme by purchasing advertising for his Web sites from major Internet search engines. Throughout the entire course of the scheme, the defendant processed more than $800,000 dollars through credit card merchant accounts under his control.

The case is part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing initiative to combat the sale of pirated software and counterfeit goods through commercial Web sites and online auction sites such as eBay. To date, the Department has obtained 33 convictions involving online auction and commercial distribution of counterfeit software. The Department’s initiative to combat online auction piracy is just one of several steps being undertaken to address the losses caused by intellectual property theft and hold responsible those engaged in criminal copyright infringement.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Marc Miller of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex C. Lewis and Diane Kozub for the Northern District of Texas. The case was investigated by the multi-agency Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, the ICE Cyber Crimes Center and the Dallas office of ICE.

in my opinion:

according to Section 36(1) of the Copyright Act 1987 copyright infringement has happened, because Texas Man has sold copyright able soft wares in his web sites without permission of copyright owner and this is explicit violation of copyright law.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/February/09-crm-128.html

Eight Charged with Copyright Infringement for Distributing the Latest Star Wars Movie that was Stolen from Post-Production Firm Prior to Release Two O

Two Others Charged with Illegally Distributing Oscar Screeners, Unreleased Movies

Los Angeles, CA - Eight individuals were charged today in relation to a series of events in which a man took a copy of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith from a post-production facility and shared it with others, one of whom put the movie on the Internet the day before the film opened worldwide.

In other copyright infringement cases involving Hollywood, two others were charged today with distributing copies of Academy Awards "screeners" and movies that had not been released for home viewing.

According to court documents filed this morning in United States District Court in Los Angeles, just days before the worldwide release of the final Star Wars movie, several events transpired:

- Albert Valente, 28, of Lakewood, California, took a copy of the movie from the post-production facility where he worked;

- Valente loaned the copy of the movie to a friend, Jessie I. Lumada, 28, of Long Beach, California;

- Lumada gave the movie to Ramon G. Valdez, 30, of Long Beach, California;

- Valdez shared the copy of the movie with three people – Michael J. Fousse, 42, of Monrovia, California; Dwight Wayne Sityar, 27, of La Crescenta, California; and Stephani Reiko Gima, 25, of Los Angeles, all of whom worked with Valdez at a Los Angeles-based cable company;

- Gima made a copy of the movie and gave it to her cousin, Joel De Sagun Dimaano, 33, of Los Angeles; and

- Dimaano loaned his copy to Marc D. Hoaglin, 36, of Huntington Beach, California, who uploaded the film onto the Internet on May 18, 2005 – the day before Star Wars: Episode III opened in theaters.

A criminal information charges Valente, who has agreed to plead guilty, with willfully infringing a copyright by distributing his copy of Star Wars: Episode III. A criminal complaint charges Lumada, Valdez, Fousse, Sityar, Gima and Dimaano with willfully infringing a copyright by distributing or reproducing copies of the film. These seven defendants are charged with misdemeanors that carry up to one year in federal prison.

Hoaglin is charged in the same complaint with one count of uploading the movie onto the Internet, a felony under the recently enacted Family Entertainment Copyright Act. Hoaglin, if convicted, could be sentenced to as much as three years in federal prison.

All eight defendants have been summoned to appear in federal court in Los Angeles next month.

In an unrelated case, Ronald Redding, 37, of Linthicum Heights, Maryland, was charged this morning with giving his copy of Million Dollar Baby to a friend, even though the movie had been provided to him solely to "screen" for purposes of voting for the Academy Awards. The information charges Redding, who has agreed to plead guilty, with a misdemeanor charge of willfully infringing a copyright by distributing this film.

Informations and criminal complaints contain allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

In a third case, Eric Wright, 43, of Bellflower, California, pleaded guilty yesterday to a single count of trafficking in counterfeit DVD labels attached to copyrighted movies. Appearing before United States District Judge Audrey B. Collins, Wright admitted making unauthorized copies of The Incredibles and Friday Night Lights, affixing counterfeit labels to those copies, and selling the DVDs to others. Wright, who faces up to five years in federal prison, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 12.

These cases were investigated by the Los Angeles Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

in my opinion:

nowadays copyright infringement has become a serious threat for film industry. distributing an unreleased movie is a one the worst forms of copyright infringement that destroys all copyright owner.

http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/valenteCharge.htm

GAME STORE OWNERS CHARGED WITH COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT FOR SELLING MODIFIED Xbox SYSTEMS WITH PIRATED GAMES

Los Angeles, CA - Two store owners and a third man were charged today in a federal copyright infringement case for selling modified Xbox game consoles that allowed the machines to play pirated video games copied onto a hard drive installed in the console.

A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles accuses the three of conspiring to traffic in a technology used to circumvent a copyright protection system and conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement. The complaint affidavit specifically alleges that the owners of ACME Game Store on Melrose Avenue sold Xbox game systems that had been modified by a third man who installed modification chips and large hard drives into Xbox consoles. The modification chips and hard drives allow the user to copy rented or borrowed games onto the consoles for future playback.

The three charged today are:

- Jason Jones, 34, of Los Angeles, a co-owner of ACME Game Store;

- Jonathan Bryant, 44, of Los Angeles, a co-owner of ACME Game Store; and

- Pei "Patrick" Cai, 32, of Pico Rivera.

All three are charged with a felony count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The defendants will be summoned to appear in United States District Court in Los Angeles in late January.

This case began when the Entertainment Software Alliance contacted federal law enforcement and reported that undercover private investigators had purchased a modified Xbox game console, pre-loaded with several copyrighted games, from ACME Game Store in May 2005.

According to the criminal complaint, Jones and Bryant had modified Xbox game consoles running as demonstrators in ACME Game Store and would describe in detail to customers the advantages of the modifications. Customers would pay from $225 to more than $500 for the modifications, depending on the extent of the modifications requested and the number of games that were pre-loaded onto the hard drive. Cai would pick up game consoles to be modified from ACME Game Store, modify the systems at his home, and then return the game consoles to ACME Game Store to be picked up by ACME Game Store customers.

During the investigation, undercover agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement paid $265 to have a modification chip, a hard drive and 77 pirated games installed on an Xbox, according to the criminal complaint.

The charge of conspiracy carries a maximum possible penalty of five years in federal prison.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which received the assistance of the Entertainment Software Alliance.

in my opinion:

computer game programmer are another victims of intellectual property theft. video game industry has employed many IT experts around the world and any damage to it will affect negatively people involved in it. copyright protection covers this industry and especially in us infringers in this area are punished severely.

Five Additional Defendants Charged In Crackdown Against Worldwide Internet Piracy Groups

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Five individuals were charged with criminal copyright infringement in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of an ongoing federal crackdown against international online piracy groups responsible for most of the illegal distribution of copyrighted movies, software, games and music on the Internet, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C. F. Shappert of the Western District of North Carolina, and FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin B. Kendrick of the Charlotte Division announced today.

Kevin Fuchs, 25, of West Amherst, New York; and Cuong Quoc Trang, 35, of Parker, Colorado, were charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and copyright infringement. A criminal information charged Matthew Alderman, 24, of Ashland, Oregon, with criminal copyright infringement, and David Morvant, 35, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, and Michael Hays, 51, of Delafield, Wisconsin, with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.

Operations FastLink and Site Down—the two largest and most aggressive international enforcement actions against criminal organizations involved in the illegal online distribution of copyrighted material—resulted in a total of more than 200 search warrants executed in 16 countries; the confiscation of hundreds of computers and illegal online distribution hubs; and the removal of more than 100 million dollars worth of illegally-copied copyrighted software, games, movies, and music from illicit distribution channels. Countries participating in these U.S.-led operations included: France, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Hungary, Israel, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Brazil, Belgium, and Germany.

“Large-scale operations like FastLink and SiteDown strike at the core of online piracy,” said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division. “Losses to industry and individuals from online piracy are enormous, and law enforcement will continue to do everything it can to protect valuable copyrighted products and shut down these illegal distribution networks.” Both Operations FastLink and Site Down were the culmination of multiple FBI undercover investigations, but only one of those investigations participated in both operations: the Charlotte undercover investigation responsible for today’s charges. These charges are the latest in a series of actions taken by the Department of Justice to crack down on illegal online piracy. Operation FastLink has yielded 28 felony convictions to date while in Operation Site Down, 53 individuals have been charged and 23 individuals convicted of felony offenses.

“Intellectual property theft is a growing crime with serious economic consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Shappert. “Operations FastLink and SiteDown combine the resources of the Justice Department, 42 separate U.S. Attorney Offices, and FBI agents from 30 separate field offices, in a concerted effort to attack organizations dedicated to the piracy of intellectual property.”

The five defendants charged today are alleged to have been leading members in the illegal software, game, movie, and music trade online, commonly referred to as the "warez scene." They are charged with playing key roles in these organized warez groups that act as “first-providers” of copyrighted works to the Internet—the so-called “release” groups that are the original sources for a majority of the pirated works distributed and downloaded via the Internet. Once a warez release group prepares a stolen work for distribution, the material is distributed in minutes to secure, top-level warez servers throughout the world. From there, within a matter of hours, the pirated works are distributed globally, filtering down to peer-to-peer and other public file sharing networks accessible to anyone with Internet access. These warez groups supply the for-profit criminal distribution networks that cost the copyright industry billions of dollars each year.

“Theft of intellectual property strikes at the very heart of this country's economic vitality,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Kendrick. “Crimes of this type are a priority within our Cyber Crimes Program and the public can be rest assured that we will continue to aggressively investigate those individuals and organizations involved in activity such as this in an effort to bring them to justice."

These cases are being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Eric Klumb, Senior Counsel Corbin Weiss of the Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Ellis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina.

The charges contained in the indictments and informations are allegations only and the defendants are presumed innocent until convicted at trial.

in my opinion:

preventing copyright infringement has become a priority for FBI and considering strict copyright law, FBI play an effective role in bringing the infringer to justice. we should not forget that in america as a highly developed country, protection of intellectual property is extremely important.

http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/fuchsCharge.htm

copyright

A copyright notice or copyright symbol is an identifier placed on copies of the work to inform the world of copyright ownership. While use of a copyright notice was once required as a condition of copyright protection, it is now optional. Use of the copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require advance permission from, or registration with the Copyright Office.

Because prior law did contain such a requirement, however, the use of a copyright notice or copyright symbol is still relevant to the copyright status of older works.

Copyright notice was required under the 1976 Copyright Act. This requirement was eliminated when the United States adhered to the Berne Convention, effective March 1, 1989. Although works published without copyright notice before that date could have entered the public domain in the United States, the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) restores copyright in certain foreign works originally published without copyright notice.

Use of the copyright notice may be important because it informs the public that the work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of first publication. Furthermore, in the event that a work is infringed, if a proper notice of copyright appears on the published copy or copies to which a defendant in a copyright infringement suit had access, then no weight shall be given to such a defendant's defense based on innocent infringement. Innocent infringement occurs when the infringer did not realize that the work was protected.

The use of the copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require advance permission from, or registration with, the Copyright Office.

The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain all the following three elements:

1. The copyright symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word "Copyright," or the abbreviation "Copr."

2. The year of first publication of the work. In the case of compilations or derivative works incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the compilation or derivative work is sufficient. The year date may be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying textual matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful article.

3. The name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.

http://inventors.about.com/od/copyrights/a/CopyrightNotice.htm

CD And DVD Counterfeiter And Supplier Sentenced To Prison

FBI-Led Operation Shut Down Regional Hub for Music and Movie Piracy

ATLANTA, GA - Two co-defendants have been sentenced this week on federal charges relating to copyright and counterfeiting violations of CDs and DVDs. CHARLES NDHLOVU, 34, of Fairburn, Georgia, was sentenced by United States District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. to federal prison on charges of copyright infringement and trafficking in counterfeit labels for CDs and DVDs. His raw materials supplier, SCOTT AHN, 42, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was also sentenced on a charge of conspiracy to violate federal copyright laws.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “These defendants mass-produced hundreds of thousands of counterfeit music CDs and DVD movies in a pirating operation that appeared to be the largest of its kind in the southeastern United States. Their victims included consumers, who were not getting genuine products, as well as the thousands of Americans who earn their livelihoods from the legitimate creation of their art.”

“These sentences send an important message that criminal counterfeiting will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. “The sale of counterfeit goods and the theft of intellectual property harm businesses, consumers, and artists alike. We will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals who seek to profit illegally by stealing the works of others, including those who knowingly support the criminal activity.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, said, “The wholesale theft of intellectual property and copyrighted material as was seen in this case simply cannot be tolerated. The FBI is well positioned to investigate such criminal enterprises which attempt to profit off of the creativity and hard work of others and will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners to bring such individuals to justice.”

“The theft of intellectual property undermines our economy and deprives our creative artists of the full value of their work,” said Brock D. Nicholson, special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations for Georgia and the Carolinas. “Protecting legitimate business interests is a priority for HSI and our law enforcement partners. We are dedicated to protecting the jobs, the income and the tax revenue that disappear when criminals and criminal organizations traffic in stolen content for their own profit.”

NDHLOVU was sentenced to 4 years, 3 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. NDHLOVU was convicted on July 28, 2011, of two charges of copyright infringement and one charge of trafficking in counterfeit labels. A federal jury convicted him after a 4-day-long trial.

Although AHN was convicted of supplying only the raw materials and technology, such as blank CDs and burners, he was sentenced to 1 year, 7 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $25,000 to the Recording Industry Association of America, and $15,000 to the Motion Picture Association of America. AHN pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate copyright laws on January 14, 2010, testified against several of his 12 co-defendants in two criminal trials and gave other cooperation.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: NDHLOVU mass-produced infringing copies of copyrighted CDs and DVDs, purchased corresponding counterfeit labels and packaging, and assembled the final product that he ultimately sold wholesale. Evidence at trial also showed that NDHLOVU reproduced thousands of CDs and DVDs per week for distribution. AHN assisted in supplying NDHLOVU with blank DVDs and CDs knowing that his large customer base was mainly reproducing popular movie and music titles, a violation of federal copyright laws.

NDHLOVU and AHN were among 13 charged by a federal grand jury on May 19, 2009, in an indictment alleging various copyright, trademark and counterfeit goods offenses. In February 2011, four of their co-conspirators were sentenced for their involvement in the piracy ring. MAMADOU SADIO BARRY, 40, was sentenced to 60 months in prison; MOUSSA BARADJI, 29, was sentenced to 50 months in prison; SEDIKEY SANKANO, 42, was sentenced to 2 years in prison; and WON AHN, 69, was placed on probation for one year. BARRY, BARADJI and SANKANO also were ordered to serve three years of supervised release following their prison terms. BARRY and BARADJI were ordered to pay $70,894 in restitution and SANKANO was ordered to pay $3,867 in restitution. On June 21, 2011, IBRAHIM DIALLO was sentenced to 3 years, 2 months in prison to be followed three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $2,479 in restitution. SANKANO, WON AHN and DIALLO pleaded guilty. BARRY and BARADJI were convicted at trial in October 2010. The court found that these defendants were responsible for distributing illegal copies of products that, if legitimate, would have been valued at over $3.7 million.

This case is part of efforts being undertaken by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force) to stop the theft of intellectual property. Attorney General Eric Holder created the IP Task Force to combat the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property crimes, protect the health and safety of American consumers, and safeguard the nation's economic security against those who seek to profit illegally from American creativity, innovation and hard work. The IP Task Force seeks to strengthen intellectual property rights protection through heightened criminal and civil enforcement, greater coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and increased focus on international enforcement efforts, including reinforcing relationships with key foreign partners and U.S. industry leaders. To learn more about the IP Task Force, go towww.justice.gov/dag/iptaskforce.

This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the ICE Homeland Security Investigations, together with officers of the Atlanta Police Department Organized Crime Unit, Fulton County Sheriff's Office, College Park Police Department, and East Point Police Department. Assistance was provided by representatives of victim rightsholders, the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian Pearce and Senior Counsel John H. Zacharia of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

in my opinion:

this case shows how much american officials and the current regulation care about the security of society' intellectual property and how seriously copyright law applies to those who violate it.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/gan/press/2011/12-14-11b.html

music copyright

The Isley Brothers isn’t as well known a name as Michael Bolton, but unfortunately for Mr. Bolton, they share a song with the same name and some of the same lyrics. The Isley Brothers song was released in 1966 under the name “Love is a Wonderful Thing, Michael Bolton’s song was released in 1991.

A suit was brought against Michael Bolton by the Isley Brothers for allegedly lifting parts from their original song of the same name and in 1991 Despite Michael Bolton and the co-author of the song’s argument that there was insufficient evidence supporting the jury’s findings, the district court found in favor of the Isley Brothers and left the largest award in history for plagiarism in the music industry intact

in conclusion:

in this case there has been clear infringement under section 36(1) read with s 13(1)(c) of the Act.

http://www.fairwagelawyers.com/most-famous-music-copyright-infringment.html