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Videogame Pirate Gets Long Jail Sentence

Posted by simoniker on from the plank-officially-walked dept.

Thanks to the San Jose Business Journal for its article discussing the sentencing of a notable videogame pirate to 50 months in prison after being found guilty on charges of "copyright infringement and... mail fraud." According to the piece: "[Sean Michael] Breen... admitted that he was a leader in the Internet-based piracy group known as Razor1911. Since the early 1990s, Razor1911 had sought to achieve a reputation in the underground Internet piracy community... as the leading distributor of cracked computer and console game software." A report at GameSpot has further details, noting Razor1911 "...acquired advance copies of [videogame] titles by posing as reviewers for fictitious game magazines and having them shipped to a derelict storefront address in Oakland."

3 of 92 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Too Harsh by Curtman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Depends how you define better I guess. The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world from what I hear. There certainly seems to be more effective systems out there.

  2. A few things I'd like to mention by __aailob1448 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    First of all, The severity of the sentence is due to the mail fraud breen engaged in. And quite a fraud it was: $600.000 (even if it's likely inflated) is no small amount of money.

    Second, this is really nothing to applaud or rejoice over. The arrest of one or two dozen pirates does not even scratch the tip of the iceberg. The authorities know it but they still bust a group or two every couple of years for PR purposes. It does not affect the so-called "warez scene" at all. All game were pirated before this happened and all have continued to be pirated afterwards.

    Third. I am very surprised to read that Razor1911 sold copies. To the extent of my knowledge, they are (Because they are still alive and kicking)a veteran and respected group in the warez scene and the one big No-No is the selling of pirated materials. In fact, Razor1911's nfo file (an .nfo file contains information about a given release and the logo and signature of the group that released it) states very clearly:
    SUPPORT THE COMPANIES THAT PRODUCE QUALITY SOFTWARE! IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PRODUCT, BUY IT! SOFTWARE AUTHORS DESERVE SUPPORT!!
    So either they are really big hypocrites or the press got it wrong (I'm gonna go with option B here...)

    And of course, stealing is wrong, I don't condone piracy, don't have sex unprotected, yadda yadda...
    1. Re:A few things I'd like to mention by sobeks_eye · · Score: 5, Interesting
      All game were pirated before this happened and all have continued to be pirated afterwards.

      That's possibly the worst grammar I've ever seen in a Slashdot post.

      I like the way things are now with the piracy game. It's a safe way for kids to rebel against "the man", doesn't usually involve other vices, and is something you can grow out of when you get a job.

      For me, software piracy was something I participated in until I was about 22, inertia carrying me past my teens. As a teenager, this was the only way I had at my disposal to get the latest games (back then the latest games were of the "Bolo" and "Rescue Raiders" variety).

      As an adult, it actually cost me more in time and money to pirate games than it would have to just drop $40 on what looked the coolest. I had to invest in a CD burner, which was expensive at the time, as well as a Zip drive, and the media they required (also pricey at the time). Not to mention having a family to support meant that I had a lot more to lose than I did at 16. At 16 I was a punk with a chip on my shoulder, and never bothered to cover my tracks. Stupid. Lucky. But anyway, I grew out of it.

      Video game companies will rail and demand justice, but the kids will still be given leeway with this vice.

      The advanced copy grift was a different matter, though. First, it's a bad con -- that will always get you caught eventually. Second, it's an adult who is deliberately defrauding a company by posing as someone he's not. Screw him. I don't want him representing the software piracy market. He's a bad example. Give me back the whiz kids who buy a game (or shoplift it if circumstances warrant) and defeat the copy protection or write a crack. That's just good fun.