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Home | News | Infamous piracy group leader pleads guilty to copyright infringement
Infamous piracy group leader pleads guilty to copyright infringement
Thursday, 28 August 2003A well-known figure in the Internet piracy world has pleaded guilty to distributing music, software and gaming software in violation of copyright laws. The individual concerned, Mark Shumaker, is a former leader of the music piracy group Apocalypse Crew, and is being tried before a district court in Virginia in the United States. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee is scheduled to pass sentenced on November 7, and Shumaker faces a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) President Cary Sherman hailed the coup. "The theft of music on the Internet is a serious crime, and this action shows that the Justice Department means business. Those who egregiously distribute music on the Internet should take note - federal prosecution and jail time are real possibilities," he said.
Paul J. McNulty, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia said Apocalypse Crew used industry insiders to obtain pre-release copies of compact disks. These were then made accessible on the Internet to users of peer-to-peer (P2P) or file-sharing networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus. "The conviction of Mark Shumaker is another example of the Department of Justice's aggressive attack against high-level Internet piracy groups that initiate the illegal distribution of copyrighted works over the Internet," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General John G. Malcolm.
Source: Internetnews.com
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) President Cary Sherman hailed the coup. "The theft of music on the Internet is a serious crime, and this action shows that the Justice Department means business. Those who egregiously distribute music on the Internet should take note - federal prosecution and jail time are real possibilities," he said.
Paul J. McNulty, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia said Apocalypse Crew used industry insiders to obtain pre-release copies of compact disks. These were then made accessible on the Internet to users of peer-to-peer (P2P) or file-sharing networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus. "The conviction of Mark Shumaker is another example of the Department of Justice's aggressive attack against high-level Internet piracy groups that initiate the illegal distribution of copyrighted works over the Internet," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General John G. Malcolm.
Source: Internetnews.com