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Arrests Made Near D.C. Over Modded Game Consoles
multiOSfreak writes "According to this Reuters articl, two video game store employees have been arrested for modding video game consoles. From the article: 'Authorities arrested two store employees on charges of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and conspiracy to traffic in a device that circumvents technological protection measures, the ESA said.'" It's not clear from the article whether the modded consoles were sold without copies of the games which had been installed on their hard drives, which would seem to be the most important distinction between convenience for buyers and actually ripping off game makers. Update: 12/08 22:43 GMT by T : This thread on boing-boing includes a comment from a would-be customer who says (among other things) that store employees "were also preloading the XBox systems with tons of emulators (arcade and console) and as many ROMs as they could find."
"The modified consoles, some holding 15 or more games already copied to the hard drive, were on open display in the stores."
Yeah, that sounds like an open and shut case of stupidity to me.
Conspiracy to commit copyright infringement... I didn't know it'd gotten that bad yet.
-Jesse
Nothing says "unprofessional job" like wrinkles in your duct tape.
As a result of this arrest, I'll feel a little bit safer tonight when I go to sleep.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
In other news, federal authorities raided and destroyed core Internet routers citing that the hardware was facilitating piracy.
"Oh dear, she's stuck in an infinite loop and he's an idiot" -Prof. Farnsworth (Futurama)
Well, now that the gaming industry has caught these two guys, their billions in lost revenue will be made up in no time!
Yep. Pretty much they deserve it based on their own stupidity. I mean, c'mon. Everybody knows you only sell this type of thing through Ebay with vaguely worded descriptions.
the 11th commandment would read "Thou shalt not make copies of the previous 10 commandments."
No data, no cry
They should have known no good could come from opening Pandora's boxen.
What people do in the privacy of their own homes
Am I the only one who read that as "What people do in the piracy of their own homes"?
Just junk food for thought...
Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
(a) Criminal Infringement.--Any person who infringes a copyright willfully...(2) by the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means...which have a total retail value of more than $1,000, shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18, United States Code....
(b) Forfeiture and Destruction.--When any person is convicted of any violation of subsection (a), the court in its judgment of conviction shall, in addition to the penalty therein prescribed, order the forfeiture and destruction or other disposition of all infringing copies or phonorecords and all implements, devices, or equipment used in the manufacture of such infringing copies or phonorecords. (emphasis obviously mine)
You heard it here first, people. Infringe the copyrights of over $1,000 worth of records on the internet, and the ENTIRE INTERNET MUST BE DESTROYED.
Enjoy!
That green slime had it coming.
$69 for the chip, $75 for 120GB drive (still the max, right?), and $129 for the xbox.
The look on your face when the DOJ raids your store and hauls your ass to jail....priceless.
Sorry, no matter what side of the fence you stand on, and wether you think it's right or wrong, it was pretty stupid of them.
:)
I try and stay on my fence's good side, especially when he's selling pirated material for me.
(actual piracy, not the DMCA newspeak version of piracy)
you mean "actual piracy" where they sailed in on a ship flying the skull and crossbones, killed the employees and customers mercilessly, and stole everything of value off the store shelves before sinking the store?
pretty sure there wasn't any "actual piracy" going on.
If I don't put anything here, will anyone recognize me anymore?
I want to see you try and get Halo 2 for $14.
..Store owner waves hand (a la Ben Kenobi)... These aren't the modded up games you are looking for....
Police: "You're busted!!"