|
|
Pandora's cube case a real pandora's box for retailer. |
|
Pandora's cube case a real pandora's box for retailer. |
Biren Amin, owner of Pandora's Cube, a major retailer of pirated games and illegally modified Microsoft Xboxes in the Washington, DC area, has been sentenced to five months in prison with three years of supervised release, including five months of home confinement, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today. Mr. Amin was also fined $247,237.05 and ordered to complete 80 hours of community service as part of his sentence. The ESA applauded federal law enforcement officials for their accomplishments and called Amin's sentence a clarion warning for others contemplating computer and video game piracy.
"We are grateful for the work done by U.S. law enforcement agents and prosecutors in bringing these defendants to justice," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. "Sentences of this magnitude send a clear message to game retailers that selling pirate products has serious consequences, including prosecution to the fullest extent of the law."
Last week's conviction is the fourth in a series of guilty convictions of Pandora's Cube employees, all of whom were sentenced for conspiring to commit felony copyright infringement and conspiring to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Amin, the owner of retailer Pandora's Cube, was sentenced by Judge Peter Messitte of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Amin's sentence comes after three of his co-conspirators were convicted and sentenced for piracy activities at Pandora's Cube. Defendant Mguresh Amin, a store manager, received a sentence of six months home confinement, twenty-four months probation and 150 hours community service. Herbie Walker, a senior retail manager, was sentenced to six months home confinement, paying for the costs associated with electronic monitoring, twenty-four months probation and 100 hours of community service. Hitesh Patel, a store manager and technician, received a sentence of four months in prison, with two years of supervised release including four months of home detention.
The Pandora's Cube employees modified Microsoft Xbox video game consoles, in violation of the DMCA, and turned them into what Pandora's Cube called "Super Xboxes." These "Super Xboxes" were designed solely to defeat the Xbox's copyright protection system and permit the user to avoid purchasing and paying for legitimate Xbox video games. The Pandora's Cube employees also loaded illegal copies of video games onto the hard drives of the Super Xboxes, in violation of federal copyright law.
Enacted in 1998, the DMCA prohibits the manufacture and distribution of products or services that cir*****vent technological protection measures designed to prevent unauthorized access to and copying of copyrighted materials.
The cases against Pandora's Cube employees were the result of a joint effort of the United States Department of Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section ("CCIPS"), the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland, and the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE").
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 $7.3 billion in entertainment software sales in the U.S. in 2004, and billions more in export sales of entertainment software.
News-Source: http://home.businesswire.com
| |
|
|
|
Related Stories |
|
|
Most Popular |
|
|
|
Rate this Article |
|
| | |
| Xbox Download Stats | | | Site Statistics
| |
HQ Online Statistics Members: 1 | Guests: 7,858 | Xbox Live Tags: 4,376
| | | |
Forums Active Users: 7492
| Your Account Active Users: 109
| News Active Users: 68
| Home Active Users: 40
| Xbox Games Active Users: 36
| Downloads Active Users: 29
| Private Messages Active Users: 20
| Xbox Homebrew Active Users: 14
| Xbox Tutorials Active Users: 12
| Profile Active Users: 11
|
| View More Detailed Statistics |
| Popular Xbox Games | |
Constantine Page Views: 368,739 Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo Hellblazer graphic novels and Warner Bros. feature film, the supernatural thriller Constantine tells the story of John Constantine, a man who has literally been to hell .. | | More Xbox Games | | HQ Network Affiliates | |
| Xbox-Hq.Com - Archived News | |
| Wednesday, March 20 | | MLB The Show 24 launches on Xbox Game Pass published by: BigJ | Page Views: 28 | Comments: 0 |
Tuesday, March 19 | | Discover the Sound of Life in The Lullaby of published by: BigJ | Page Views: 28 | Comments: 0 |
Monday, March 18 | | FLIPGO: A portable dual monitor that you can published by: BigJ | Page Views: 48 | Comments: 0 |
Thursday, March 14 | | Highwater launches this week on Xbox X|S, XB1 published by: BigJ | Page Views: 37 | Comments: 0 |
| JSAUX’S Black MODCASE for the ROG Ally Is Ava published by: BigJ | Page Views: 38 | Comments: 0 |
Wednesday, March 13 | | Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open coming to published by: BigJ | Page Views: 43 | Comments: 0 |
Tuesday, March 12 | | Night Slashers: Remake confirmed for XBOX, Pl published by: BigJ | Page Views: 52 | Comments: 0 |
| RuneScape developer Jagex joins CVC Capital P published by: BigJ | Page Views: 62 | Comments: 0 |
Monday, March 11 | | Dark JRPG Graphic Adventure 'Neon Blood' debu published by: BigJ | Page Views: 45 | Comments: 0 |
Friday, March 08 | | WWII-based strategy epic Classified: France ' published by: BigJ | Page Views: 49 | Comments: 0 |
| Sonic X Shadow Generations hits Xbox One, Xbo published by: BigJ | Page Views: 56 | Comments: 0 |
Thursday, March 07 | | Explore the World of Ink Painting in Realm of published by: BigJ | Page Views: 47 | Comments: 0 |
Wednesday, March 06 | | Barton Lynch Pro Surfing Update v1.07 is LIVE published by: BigJ | Page Views: 47 | Comments: 0 |
| FALLEN LEAF Teams Up with STUDIOS EXTRAORDINA published by: BigJ | Page Views: 56 | Comments: 0 |
Tuesday, March 05 | | Goons: Legends & Mayhem: Meet the Cat Goon an published by: BigJ | Page Views: 53 | Comments: 0 |
Monday, March 04 | | Hauntii hits Xbox Game Pass for console and P published by: BigJ | Page Views: 47 | Comments: 0 |
| REVEIL launches this week on Xbox Series, PS5 published by: BigJ | Page Views: 57 | Comments: 0 |
Friday, March 01 | | Dark Atlas: Infernum launching on Xbox, PlayS published by: BigJ | Page Views: 70 | Comments: 0 |
| Towerful Defense: A Rogue TD confirmed for XB published by: BigJ | Page Views: 52 | Comments: 0 |
Thursday, February 29 | | The House of Tesla announced for Consoles, iO published by: BigJ | Page Views: 46 | Comments: 0 |
Wednesday, February 28 | | Martha Is Dead: The Terrifying Game That's Ge published by: BigJ | Page Views: 56 | Comments: 0 |
Tuesday, February 27 | | WWE 2K24 launches in March for Xbox X|S, Xbox published by: BigJ | Page Views: 65 | Comments: 0 |
| Hex Gambit: Respawned hits Xbox X|S, XB1, PS4 published by: BigJ | Page Views: 57 | Comments: 0 |
| Manic Mechanics lands in March on Xbox One, X published by: BigJ | Page Views: 77 | Comments: 0 |
Monday, February 26 | | Realm of Ink's Developer Walkthrough Reveals published by: BigJ | Page Views: 81 | Comments: 0 |
| Legion Go Gets a New Storage Bag from JSAUX published by: BigJ | Page Views: 60 | Comments: 0 |
| Xbox One vs PlayStation 4: The Ultimate Gamin published by: BigJ | Page Views: 80 | Comments: 0 |
Friday, February 23 | | Dead Tomb is now available for Xbox and Ninte published by: BigJ | Page Views: 60 | Comments: 0 |
| The Zebra-Man! is coming soon for Xbox, PlayS published by: BigJ | Page Views: 63 | Comments: 0 |
Thursday, February 22 | | Watch the New DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO Tra published by: BigJ | Page Views: 76 | Comments: 0 |
Wednesday, February 21 | | Early 2024 physical release confirmed for Bla published by: BigJ | Page Views: 77 | Comments: 0 |
| Reverse-city builder, Flooded hits on Xbox an published by: BigJ | Page Views: 59 | Comments: 0 |
Tuesday, February 20 | | EARTHLOCK 2 Unveils New Details On Desert Shi published by: BigJ | Page Views: 58 | Comments: 0 |
Monday, February 19 | | TEVI launches digitally on Xbox Series X|S an published by: BigJ | Page Views: 64 | Comments: 0 |
Thursday, February 15 | | Narrative psycho-thriller game REVEIL launche published by: BigJ | Page Views: 95 | Comments: 0 |
Wednesday, February 14 | | Manage Your Own Prison in Prison Architect 2 published by: BigJ | Page Views: 70 | Comments: 0 |
| Red Art Games Announces First Physical Xbox G published by: BigJ | Page Views: 57 | Comments: 0 |
Tuesday, February 13 | | Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Launches i published by: BigJ | Page Views: 69 | Comments: 0 |
Monday, February 12 | | Play & Win with VersusNow: The Next-Gen Strea published by: BigJ | Page Views: 103 | Comments: 0 |
| Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 launches Day One on published by: BigJ | Page Views: 71 | Comments: 0 |
News Archive
| |
|
|