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California Game Pirate Sentenced to Jail
ESA Commends San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and CATCH Team
September 19, 2007 – Washington, DC – The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today applauded the sentence imposed on a California game pirate by the Honorable Timothy R. Walsh of the San Diego Superior Court. Frederick Brown, of Vista, CA, received a sentence of one year, with the first 90 days thereof to be served in prison and the balance to be served in work furlough, followed by five years of probation, for his involvement in game piracy activities.
In June 2007, acting on a tip from ESA investigators, members of the Computer and Technology Crime High-Tech Response Team (CATCH) arrested Mr. Brown for trafficking in pirated game software. A search of his premises resulted in the confiscation of hundreds of illegal game discs. On August 1, 2007, Mr. Brown pleaded guilty to two felony counts of trafficking in counterfeit products.
“We commend the work of the San Diego CATCH team and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office,” said Ric Hirsch, senior vice president for intellectual property enforcement at the ESA, the trade group representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. “Sentences that include jail time send a clear message that violating intellectual property rights is a serious crime with significant consequences and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Judge Walsh, in addition to the jail sentence, imposed a $100,000 fine and a restitution payment to ESA of more than $10,000. Once released from prison, Mr. Brown will also be subject to computer use restrictions.
The ESA is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. ESA members collectively account for more than 90 percent of the $7.4 billion in entertainment software sales in the U.S. in 2006, and billions more in export sales of entertainment software. For more information about the ESA, please visit www.theESA.com.
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