| Copyright infringement is ALSO a criminal offense Copyright infringement is ALSO a criminal offense when the gov't wants to bother to prosecute it.
»news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/2008030···d/143252
On Nov. 7, Maurice Robberson pled guilty to conspiracy and felony copyright infringement, while Thomas Robberson pled guilty to a single count of felony copyright infringement. It isn't just a civil offense as many people think.
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| said by fAcEtIOUs:Copyright infringement is ALSO a criminal offense when the gov't wants to bother to prosecute it. Probably what makes this different is that these guys didn't just copy for the personal use, or give copies away for free to friends (or anyone who connected to their machine). They were counterfeiting, selling it as real retail versions, and confusing the public.
Maybe people should know that Photoshop for $20 isn't legitimate. But, it still seems different to me. It's amazing they thought they could be so public and get away with it (when people quietly letting strangers grab copies for free via P2P are being discovered).
Mark |
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 james
join:2001-02-26
CWCville USA
1 edit | reply to fAcEtIOUs
Actually, the definition for them to pursue criminal charges it must be "willful and for monetary gain".
*edit* correction, in the U.S. you are guilty of a felony if you even download a single song, movie or program without the consent of the copyright owner. As Yakov Smirnoff would say: "what a country!"
On a side note, I think this is the first time I've seen the term software "pirate" applied to actual software pirates. Free distribution isn't piracy, piracy is when people sell copies for money and take actual sales away from the owner. |
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 81399672Premium
join:2006-05-17
Los Angeles, CA
kudos:2 | reply to fAcEtIOUs
here is big differences that you seem not never understand. They were selling pirated stuff as such as that is illegal and as you correctly posted will put you in jail. Downloading pirate software is not against any criminal law and such will not put you in jail. Technically it's not even illegal to download pirated stuff and not illegal to upload it as that is the only people riaa ever goes after. Sorry tk junk mail i know you really try to scare people but it's not working
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i am not a lawyer but I do play one on the internet |
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| said by 81399672:here is big differences that you seem not never understand. They were selling pirated stuff as such as that is illegal and as you correctly posted will put you in jail. Downloading pirate software is not against any criminal law and such will not put you in jail. Technically it's not even illegal to download pirated stuff and not illegal to upload it as that is the only people riaa ever goes after. Sorry tk junk mail i know you really try to scare people but it's not working Wrong!!
»www.unc.edu/~unclng/copy-corner66.htm
There are four essential elements required to prove felony copyright infringement: (1) that a registered copyright exists, (2) that the defendant infringed by reproduction or distribution of the copyrighted work, (3) that the defendant acted willfully and (4) that the works infringed were at least 10 copies of one or more copyrighted works with a total value of $2,500 within a 180-day period. Willfulness continues to be a very illusive concept, but the statute provides no definition. »www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrim···01_5.htm
Until recently, the prosecution was required to prove that copyright infringement was done willfully and for commercial advantage or private financial gain. Now the law provides for prosecution in the absence of these monetary considerations. Specifically, the current statute, as codified at 17 U.S.C. § 506(a)(2), allows for prosecution in cases involving large scale illegal reproduction or distribution of copyrighted works where the infringers act willfully, but without a discernible profit motive.
Cases alleging illegal distribution of copyrighted materials without commercial gain have been charged all over the country. In August 1999, the first person was convicted for illegally posting computer software programs, musical recordings, and digitally-recorded movies on his Web site, and allowing the general public to download and copy these products free of charge. The Oregon defendant pleaded guilty to a felony.
Prosecutors should not hesitate to utilize this avenue of enforcement. In many cases the damage to the victim may be enormous although the infringer is not profiting financially. In fact, because the copyrighted materials are provided without charge to the entire Internet-using public, the demand for the infringing goods provided for free may increase dramatically and result in great potential loss to the rights holder. »www.cybercrime.gov/thomasPlea.htm
»www.cybercrime.gov/mccauslandPlea.htm
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81399672Premium
join:2006-05-17
Los Angeles, CA
kudos:2 | Sorry mistyped. i meant to say it's not illegal to download it and only illegal to upload it. You can't post any example of anyone being criminally convicted for just downloading pirated stuff and not selling it
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KearnstdElf WizardPremium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | reply to fAcEtIOUs
these are the pirates worth spending resources on. people uploading and downloading dont hurt any media or software industry. People selling pirate material do cause harm as for one thing they tend to get their stuff from mass pirate press shops.
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 BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | reply to james
said by james: Free distribution isn't piracy, piracy is when people sell copies for money and take actual sales away from the owner. If I give out a million version of some piece of software for FREE instead I'm not taking away actual sales away from the owner? I beg to differ.
And to say "well those people never would have bought that real thing anyways" isn't an exucse. You could use that to justify any theft. People that spend their hard earned money on software have to pay and people too cheap to pay get it for FREE and somehow there is nothing wrong with this? Of course there is. If something is not worth paying for then it's not worth having then, now is it? |
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axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC | The difference is you are certain that someone had the money if they paid for it... when I was in high school/college I knew plenty of downloaders, now that everyone I know has money, nobody pirates |
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81399672Premium
join:2006-05-17
Los Angeles, CA
kudos:2 | said by axus:The difference is you are certain that someone had the money if they paid for it... when I was in high school/college I knew plenty of downloaders, now that everyone I know has money, nobody pirates Are you sure no one pirates? You might think they don't pirate but they like do. If you know what you're doing, their is no reason of why you would not continue doing it. |
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| reply to fAcEtIOUs
If all your doing is checking out audio CD's for your local library and copy them to your computer without sharing the music files over the internet are you aloud to do that or is it a copyright infringement? |
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| said by floydb1982:If all your doing is checking out audio CD's for your local library and copy them to your computer without sharing the music files over the internet are you aloud to do that or is it a copyright infringement? It is copyright infringement. But your chance of getting caught is virtually zero.
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| reply to floydb1982
Re: Copyright infringement is ALSO a criminal offense said by floydb1982:If all your doing is checking out audio CD's for your local library and copy them to your computer without sharing the music files over the internet are you aloud to do that or is it a copyright infringement? It is not a criminal offense, so long as you don't share your copy in any way. (one of the requirements for a criminal case is the distribution)
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 KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little GuyPremium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
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| reply to 81399672
The laws have gotten very fascist lately. If they find a small amount of copied files, songs, or movies, they have multiple ways to come at you and try and bury you and claim you're a dangerous felon.
The punishments massively outweigh the "crime" but even so, that's the way it is. They really don't give a damn about "silly" clauses in some old piece of paper....
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81399672Premium
join:2006-05-17
Los Angeles, CA
kudos:2 | said by KrK:The laws have gotten very fascist lately. If they find a small amount of copied files, songs, or movies, they have multiple ways to come at you and try and bury you and claim you're a dangerous felon. The punishments massively outweigh the "crime" but even so, that's the way it is. They really don't give a damn about "silly" clauses in some old piece of paper.... I have yet to see a single case in which a person is being sued for downloading files. I only seen people getting caught for uploading the files and letting other people download from them |
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| said by 81399672:said by KrK:The laws have gotten very fascist lately. If they find a small amount of copied files, songs, or movies, they have multiple ways to come at you and try and bury you and claim you're a dangerous felon. The punishments massively outweigh the "crime" but even so, that's the way it is. They really don't give a damn about "silly" clauses in some old piece of paper.... I have yet to see a single case in which a person is being sued for downloading files. I only seen people getting caught for uploading the files and letting other people download from them One small problem. 95% of the people downloading are using software(bittorrent & other P2P) that also uploads while they download. So, as a practical matter, most downloaders are also uploaders too.
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james
join:2001-02-26
CWCville USA | reply to 81399672
Re: Copyright infringement is ALSO a criminal offense Interestingly, I've found that since I've had more money, and Steam and my Wii allow me to instantly get any game I want without leaving the couch, my downloading of "warez" has dropped severely. I've even bought games that I downloaded back in the old days, like doom 3, deus ex, super mario, and many more.
In order for people to want to pay for something, it has to be easier to pay than to download it for free. It's especially hurtful for the companies when their copy protection limits the people who actually purchase their music (as an example), while those who download the mp3s are getting a superior product for free. |
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