DOJ Hits some Warez networks... did you guys see this ?
 

June 30, 2005
DOJ Hits Warez Networks
By Roy Mark


WASHINGTON -- Federal agents took a strike at the international online piracy market today with 70 raids resulting in four arrests. At least eight major online distribution networks were dismantled, with seized pirated works estimated at $50 million.

The U.S. raids were coordinated with law enforcement officials in 10 other countries conducting similar operations. According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), the raids were all targeted at the Internet's "first providers" of pirated software, movies, music and games.

Commonly known as "warez" groups, the networks operate as the original sources for the majority of pirated works distributed and downloaded on the Internet. The stolen works frequently eventually filter down to peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and other public file-sharing networks.

"By dismantling these networks, the [DoJ] is striking at the top of the copyright piracy supply chain -- a distribution chain that provides the vast majority of the illegal digital content now available online," Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzalez said at a Washington press conference.

In addition to filtering down to P2P networks, warez groups often are the primary source for the for-profit criminal distribution networks of DVDs and CDs since the digital files can be easily converted to optical disks.

"By penetrating this illegal world of high technology and intellectual property theft, we have shown that law enforcement can and will find -- and we will prosecute -- those who try to use the Internet to create piracy networks beyond the reach of law enforcement," Gonzales said.

Gonzales said the four unidentified persons arrested Thursday will be charged with criminal copyright theft. The maximum penalties for a first-time offender are five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and restitution to the victims.

Raids were also conducted in Canada, Israel, France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Australia. Acting Assistant Attorney General John C. Richter said he anticipated further arrests both here and abroad as the investigation unfolds.

Known as Operation Site Down, the operation is the latest in a series of DoJ strikes against illegal distribution of copyrighted works over the Internet. Last summer, the DoJ launched its first ever criminal enforcement action against P2P networks.

Search warrants were executed in Texas, New York and Wisconsin, and federal agents seized computers, software and computer-related equipment in the raids.

According to the DoJ, the five targeted networks required users to share a minimum of 1 to 100 gigabytes of computer files with other users on the network.

By January, William R. Towbridge, 50, of Johnson City, N.Y., and Michael Chicoine, 47, of San Antonio each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit felony criminal copyright infringement.

"We will find and dismantle large-scale criminal enterprises," Gonzales said Thursday.
http://www.internetnews.com/infra/article.php/3517011

sucks to be those gusy :1orglaugh

Thankfully all the sites I download from are in China :1orglaugh

ouch!!!!

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

gonzales is such a fucking tool.

About time. Stealing people's creative work is wrong.

hmm who are the four guys missing from GFY that were arreested :)

But its creative work , stealing other people's creative work.....

I guess this indicates that the 2257 may spill over into other countries as well.

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wasnt a very good bust because none of the highly known groups got raided that ive heard of, Fuckin idiots catching small dogs, Teenies that have dumps, They wont catch the big groups like Razor, Because they are in sweden and shit where the US cant do shit about it..

bullshit, the doj thinks this bust is a good bust, Fuck this is small potatos compared to the warez world, This wasnt even a fucking group, If they busted a group they would shit their legal panties at how much stuff these groups deal in.. this sounds more like a irc channel with a rooted dump that allows the users get stuff from it to serve.

Often they move up the chain when doing busts, generally starting small and feeding upwards.

they arent going to get far from this bust really, Big groups work out of countries the US cant step in to because of copyright laws they already have.

No it doesn't, pirating software is illegal in the other countries as well. This has nothing to do with 2257 and does not mean other countries will follow it.

Swedes Undeterred by Online Piracy Ban

By MATTIAS KAREN, Associated Press Writer Fri Jul 1,11:21 AM ET

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Unless Swedes have suddenly changed their habits, about one in 10 became a criminal on Friday when a ban on sharing copyrighted music and movies over the Internet took effect at midnight.
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Swedes are among the most prolific file-sharers in the world. Industry groups estimate that about 10 percent of Sweden's 9 million residents freely swap music, games and movies on their computers, making the Scandinavian country one of the world's biggest copyright violators.

The new law, which follows a
European Union directive, took effect a day after the U.S. government announced an 11-nation crackdown on Internet piracy organizations responsible for stealing copies of the latest "Star Wars" film and other movies, games and software programs.

The Swedish ban also comes just days after the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the entertainment industry can file piracy lawsuits against technology companies caught encouraging customers to download copyrighted material for free over the Internet.

Globally, the movie industry alone is estimated to be losing $3.5 billion to $5.4 billion a year to Internet piracy.

Many industry experts say that Swedes ? normally law-abiding, but very tech-savvy ? have grown so lax about copyright infringement that any regulation is likely to be useless.

"A law in itself changes nothing," said Henrik Ponten, a spokesman for Antipiratbyran, a Swedish lobbying group waging a fierce campaign against the file-sharers. "There is nothing that indicates that (file-sharers) would change their behavior."

Previously, it had only been illegal in Sweden to make pirated material available online for others to download via so-called peer-to-peer networks.

While such behavior is rampant here, no one has been convicted of doing it. However, a court is expected to make the first ruling in such a case later this year. A 27-year-old man was charged in March with making a Swedish movie available for download from his home computer.

If convicted, he could face two years in prison. But if he is merely fined, it will likely serve as a green light for small-time pirates, as police and prosecutors normally won't spend resources on crimes that only warrant a fine.

And while most political parties backed the new law, Justice Minister Thomas Bodstrom has signaled that chasing downloaders will still not be a priority for police, unless the volume is massive.

"It would be just as unreasonable to dedicate large police resources to investigate single cases of downloading as it would be to prioritize shoplifting cases ahead of robberies," Bodstrom wrote in an op-ed article shortly before the law was passed.

Antipiratbyran and similar organizations in other countries have been tracking file-sharers online and sent out warning letters to people who make illegal material available from their computers.

Seven of every 1,000 Swedes has received such a letter, for a total of more than 60,000. That's a much higher per capita rate than in any other country. The average is about two per thousand, Ponten said.

"Sweden really is a paradise for pirates," he said. "We're getting very weak signals from society that copyright should be valid on the Internet."

While the Antipiratbyran's aggressive pursuit of file-sharers has been a deterrent to some, it also has fueled a public backlash, as many see the group's warning letters as harassment. Hackers attacked the agency's Web site in March. It's still down.

More than 4,000 people reported Antipiratbyran to the Swedish Data Inspection Board, claiming the agency misused personal information by collecting IP addresses and online aliases. The inspection board agreed, and the lobbying group has stopped sending out warning letters to file-sharers.

oh fucking hell :(

70 raids and 4(?!) arrests? Wow these guys are really on the fucking ball.

A guy got arrested here in Denmark in relation to this bust he was arrested at work where he used he companies servers for hosting, the name of the group is "Risciso"

It's not what you download... it's what you share.

Sharing 100 gigs, insane :upsidedow

I seed until my ratio hit's 1.2 and then I stop.

I'm selfish, I don't like to share. But will trade for sex. :1orglaugh

ARE there any implications of this on new 2257 regulations enforcement outside the US? can other countries create the same laws as in the US out of cooperation with the US?

So, when will the USA invade Sweden?

Yep stealing from people is illegal around the world. :1orglaugh

70 raids and only 6 arrests?

That's a waste of Federal money...

But wait the US can't just arrest people in other countries because they violate American laws. Some Euros told me so.

You're so stupid it hurts.

Read again jackass... They got busted for giving pirate software, music and other stuff. You think the US is the only place in the world where that's illegal?

Idiot.

If a bunch of raids took down several kingpins, mission accomplished.
The headlines will only talk about millions of dollars of stolen shit stopped. Just like a few obscenity porsecutions will be heraled as taking down child porn.

Sheese some people don't understand American politics :upsidedow

Since when is remaking a song or a movie from 10 - 30 years ago considered to be creative?

Don't worry GatorB... I got the joke.

This is going to really make GatorB soil his pants, but in Canada we can pretty much ignore your 2257 nonsense AND anything you have to say about file sharing, too.

Canadian record labels had asked the court for authorization to identify 29 alleged file swappers in that country, in preparation for suing them for copyright infringement, much as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sued more than 1500 people in America.

But the judge denied that request. In a far-ranging decision, the court further found that both downloading music and putting it in a shared folder available to other people online appeared to be legal in Canada.
http://news.com.com/Judge+File+shari...3-5182641.html

Maybe they were the warez group leaders

Same thing happened here a couple years ago. Share your 100 gigs, make sure Star Wars is in it :winkwink:

I guess that you missed the section where it said 10 other countries.

I don't think so. Of course any country can make any law they want, so in theory it's possible that others could create the same type of anti-pornography laws. I just don't think any will. Canada certainly won't. Most free democracies aren't controlled by religious fanatics. Laws like 2257 could never pass in places like Canada, France, Denmark, etc.

Guess you missed the part where they listed them and didn't include China :winkwink: