« Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals issues 1 today (and 27 NFP) [Updated] | Main | Environment - "CAFO bill worries health officials" »

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Ind. Decisions - "Indiana man gets 27 months in prison for selling counterfeit software on eBay" [Updated]

Heather Havenstein of ComputerWorld reports today:

An Indiana man was sentenced yesterday to 27 months in prison for selling more than $700,000 worth of counterfeit software on eBay, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Courtney Smith of Anderson, Ind., was sentenced by the Southern District Court of Indiana for violating criminal copyright infringement laws by selling the counterfeit software over the Internet. Smith admitted in court that he bought counterfeit Rockwell Automation Inc. software through eBay, duplicated it and resold the software to other eBay users. Rockwell specializes in factory management software.

Between March and May 2004, Smith sold counterfeit copies of the software in 32 or more separate eBay auctions for more than $4,000, according to the district court. The retail value of the software was $700,000.

"Mr. Smith exploited eBay to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of counterfeit software at drastically reduced prices, thereby illegally profiting on the back of the copyright holder," Alice Fisher, assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, said in a statement.

The case stems from a DOJ effort to combat online auction piracy. In December 2004, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Smith's home, where they seized several computers, CDs and other devices used to manufacture and counterfeit software, the DOJ said.

[Updated 3/30/07] For additional coverage, see this story from TechShout.com. A quote:
According to Assistant US Attorney, Steve DeBrota, “This kind of scheme is a recognized problem and fairly wide spread. This problem has significantly increased over time. An increasing number of businesses are seeking out and buying counterfeit software to save some money.”

BeBrota also mentioned that besides, Rockwell Automation who was hurt by this fraud, the people and entire companies who bought and sold the counterfeit software could also be liable.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 29, 2007 01:45 PM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions