By:Bryan M. (Moneoa) w/info from AP: www.ap.org
On Wednesday an Iowa man found himself the first person convicted of Copyright Infringment and Conspiracy after “Operation Fastlink” a massive international investigation into the distribution of software, music and movies.
Jathan Desir, 26, of Iowa City, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy and Copyright Infringment and faces a possible 15 years in Federal Prison at his sentencing next March. Operation Fastlink is the most massive international piracy investigation to date bringing co-operation between various law inforcement agencies world wide resulting in over 120 searches in 27 states and 11 foreign countries.
At the time over 100 people were identified as leaders or high level members of various international piracy organizations. “There is no hiding in cyberspace and there is no hiding behind borders,” Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wray said in a statement.
Desir admitted in court to conspire with others to build and operate two websites that provided access to illegal copies of Software, Games, Movies and Music. Justice officals say Desir was a member of the underground group w4r3z scene. The group made available for free, pirated items that would often be available for download well before offical release dates. Wray said the Justice Department has an on going commitment to the protection of intellectual property.
“The people of Iowa and the United States are better off when the market works and individuals are not illegally copying and using stolen software,” U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker said in a statement. “We all pay for these crimes in increased license fees and inconvenient license terms.”
