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ESA Celebrates Mexico City Anti-Piracy Raids |
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Wednesday, 11 March 2009 18:48 |
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Raid Seizes Thousands of Illegal Computer and Video Games
March 11, 2009 – WASHINGTON, DC – The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today applauded Mexico’s Metropolitan Delegation in Camarones of the Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) and the Federal Preventative Police for their recent raid in the Tepito area of Mexico City. The action resulted in the seizure of over 60,000 pirated computer and video games, 252 CD/DVD burners, and 98,000 pieces of packaging material used for pirated game software.
“Piracy hurts artists and entrepreneurs, paralyzes the development of a local game industry, and stymies our industry’s contributions to economies,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. “We commend law enforcement officials for their actions in this raid and are fully committed to supporting authorities in Mexico and around the world in their efforts to combat entertainment software piracy.”
The Tepito action comes weeks after local law enforcement raided 37 apartments and dismantled pirating workshops, warehouses, and six pirate game software labs containing over 784 CD/DVD burners. Authorities also seized nearly 33,000 pirated games and over 1 million pieces of packaging material used to manufacture pirated games.
Tepito is one of the most popular shopping areas in Mexico City and is a local center of black market activity, including the manufacture and sale of pirated computer and video games. These two raids together represent the entertainment software industry’s largest strike against a pirate burning lab syndicate in Mexico City.
The Entertainment Software Association is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. The ESA offers services to interactive entertainment software publishers including a global anti-piracy program, owning the E3 Expo, business and consumer research, federal and state government relations, First Amendment and intellectual property protection efforts. For more information, please visit www.theESA.com. |
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William Parrott aka "nightrangr" pleads guilty to copyright infringement |
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Wednesday, 11 March 2009 00:00 |
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Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that WILLIAM PARROTT, also known as "niterangr," 39, of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, pleaded guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.
According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, PARROTT and others participated in the "warez scene," which is an underground online community consisting of individuals and organized groups who use the Internet to engage in the large-scale, illegal distribution of copyrighted software. In the warez scene, certain participants (known as "suppliers") are able to obtain access to copyrighted software, video games, DVD movies, and MP3 music files, often before those titles are even available to the general public. Other participants, known as "crackers," then use their technical skills to circumvent or "crack" the digital copyright protections. Others, known as "couriers," then distribute the pirated software to various file storage sites ("FTP sites") on the Internet for others to access, reproduce, and further distribute. The leading warez groups competed with one another to attain the reputation as the fastest, highest quality providers of pirated materials.
In approximately 2001, PARROTT, with the assistance of a co-conspirator, began operating a warez server known as "Nite Ranger Hideout" (NRH). From approximately November 2002 through April 2003, PARROTT uploaded approximately 1477 files and downloaded approximately 13,109 files from the NRH site.
Judge Burns has scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2009, at which time PARROTT faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward Chang of the District of Connecticut and Clement J. McGovern from the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Justice
To view court documents on the case please visit our Warez Bust Database on the right hand side of the website.
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65TB Topsite in Sweden busted |
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Monday, 09 March 2009 00:00 |
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Not many 65TB sites , your first guess should be right. Here is the info from MSNBC:
STOCKHOLM - Police have made a major crackdown on illegal file-sharing by seizing a giant computer server during an apartment raid in a Stockholm suburb, an official said Saturday.
Henrik Ponten, a spokesman at the Swedish Anti-Piracy Bureau, said the server contained about 65 terabytes of files, corresponding to around 16,000 full-length movies.
"The size of the works are gigantic," he said, noting it was one of the biggest pirate server confiscations ever in Sweden.
To read the article on MSNBC, click here
"Basically he admitted he was in charge of it (the server)," he said.
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Organized Crime Is Increasingly Active in Film Piracy; Three Cases Link Terrorists to Piracy Profits |
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Sunday, 08 March 2009 23:53 |
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The RAND corporation has released an interesting report outlining the connection between Piracy and Terrorists. From the press release:
The RAND report outlines three cases where film piracy has helped support terrorist groups:
- Historically the best documented case involves the Irish Republican Army that used many criminal activities, including film piracy, to support its efforts to drive the British from Northern Ireland. A political agreement in 1998 ended its violent acts, but at least parts of the IRA continue to operate as a criminal enterprise that remains involved in counterfeiting activities.
- The D-Company is an organized crime group active for generations in India. Since the 1980s, it has been the major syndicate involved with film piracy in India. The group was transformed into a terrorist organization when it carried out the "Black Friday" bombings in Mumbai in 1993 that killed more than 257 people and injured hundreds more. It continues to advance a political agenda with its actions funded at least partly by the proceeds of crime.
- Another case involves the tri-border area of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay that has emerged as the most important financing center for Islamic terrorism outside of the Middle East, channeling $20 million annually to Hezbollah. At least one transfer of $3.5 million was made to Hezbollah by known DVD pirate Assad Ahmad Barakat, who received a thank-you note from the Hezbollah leader. Barakat was labeled a "specially designated global terrorist" by the U.S. government in 2004.
You can download the report by clicking here |
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