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Game Pirate Sentenced To Jail Time
A man charged in a case separate from the much-publicized anti-modder raids last month has been sentenced to ninety days in prison, another nine months of work furlough, and five years of probation. "Police seized over 1,000 pirated game discs during the raid on Brown's home, along with 'numerous' mod chips. Ric Hirsch, Vice-President of Intellectual Property Enforcement at the ESA, said, '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.'"
Did you read the article?
This isn't because he downloaded Bioshock from The Pirate's Bay. He was selling (key word here, selling) pirated console games. Thousands of them. The damages we're "$60", the price of one game. The damages are in the thousands.
I'd be as outraged as anyone if they busted down his door because he downloaded a Vista crack or copied a friend's CD. But this isn't that. He was making a business and a profit from selling pirated games. If you think it should be within his rights to do so, then I really don't know what to say, there's obviously no arguing with you.
As for whether it's worth the police's time or not, well, that could be extended to any non-violent crime. House broken into when you're not home? Why should the police care, no one was hurt. Scammed on ebay? So what, no one's bleeding. The guy broke the law, and not just because of a nebulous copyright infringement but because he was trafficing black market games.