Justice Department Announces...

[Potato]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General John Ashcroft announced today the most far-reaching and aggressive enforcement action ever undertaken against organizations involved in illegal intellectual property piracy over the Internet. Beginning yesterday morning, law enforcement from 10 countries and the United States conducted over 120 searches worldwide to dismantle some of the most well-known and prolific online piracy organizations.

“Intellectual property theft is a global problem that hurts economies around the world. To be effective, we must respond globally,” Attorney General Ashcroft said. “In the past 24 hours, working closely with our foreign law enforcement counterparts, we have moved aggressively to strike at the very core of the international online piracy world.”

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/April/04_crm_263.htm

(Not sure where to put this, sorry if it's in a bad location)

[Guest .::BeatFactory::.]

looks like they're going after those who sell the copies on the streets

[desdemona]

U.S. Moves Against Online Pirates

Associated Press

11:43 AM Apr. 22, 2004 PT

WASHINGTON -- Undercover investigations into Internet piracy identified more than 100 people in the United States and abroad involved in the theft of more than $50 million worth of music, movies and software, U.S. authorities said Thursday.

More than 120 searches were conducted in a 24-hour period in 27 states and 10 countries in an effort to dismantle organizations known by such names as Fairlight, Kalisto, Echelon, Class, Project X and APC, officials said.

The initiative, known as Operation Fastlink, has resulted in the seizure of more than 200 computers, including 30 that served as storage and distribution hubs containing thousands of copies of pirated material. One server seized in the United States contained 65,000 separate pirated titles, authorities said.

No arrests were immediately announced.

"Intellectual property theft is a global problem that hurts economies around the world," Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a statement announcing the crackdown. "To be effective, we must respond globally."

Among the countries in which FBI searches have been conducted are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden and Great Britain.

http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,...w=wn_culthead_1

[Shawn]

They have most p2p'ers blessing to do so.

[Redneck4sure]

agreed

[Bombardier]

"Warez networks exist solely to engage in theft," Ashcroft said. Calling them "highly sophisticated," and "highly structured" organizations that "direct day-to-day operations."

No arrests were immediately announced, but Ashcroft said they were coming. Among the countries in which FBI searches have been conducted are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden and Great Britain.

While people on the Warez networks tend not to make money off of their workings, they are a central distribution point for illegal movies, sound recordings and software before they are released in the theaters or on the store shelves. Warez people try to be the first guy out there to post a movie that's not in the theaters or the latest music titles, said agents working on the case.

"It's not a for-profit enterprise," said on fed. "That's how people in the warez scene improve their reputations. ... For profit is actually looked down upon."

The agents said that the community is made up of a wide range of people who often have families and good jobs and are extremely good with a computer, though there are some digital neophytes among the suspects. If convicted of violating the federal copyright law they could face up to five years in jail.

"They do profit in that they get the keys to the candy store," said another one of the agents working on the on-going investigation. "They do so knowing that it will be distributed widely."

Ashcroft and the agents refused to say how they nabbed the suspects or how they stopped the computer savvy warez community from telling everyone on the networks what was going on. One agent said their techniques differ from the ones used by the music industry in catching P2P users who illegally share files. The MPAA, the RIAA, the Entertainment Software Assn. and the Business Software Alliance all cooperated with the department in the raid, Ashcroft said.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/artic...t_id=1000494996

[liesabath]

Internet piracy is costing the US music industry dearly

Police in the US and 10 other countries have seized 200 computers in raids against organised online piracy of films, music, games and software.

Some 30 servers used for storage and distribution were seized, with one said to have contained 65,000 titles.

US Attorney General John Ashcroft said it was "the most far-reaching and aggressive enforcement action ever" against internet piracy.

News of the raid was welcomed by the entertainment and software industries.

They have long been pushing for law enforcement agencies to take a tough stance against internet piracy.

They say that without copyright protection and enforcement, the artists and distributors behind the work could lose hundreds of millions of dollars.

Operation Fastlink

"Today is a good day for creative artists," John Malcolm, chief of antipiracy operations for the Motion Picture Association and a former senior Justice Department official told the Associated Press.

"Without copyright protection and enforcement, piracy will dramatically and deleteriously impact the future of the American film industry."

Operation Fastlink, as the investigation is known, targeted senior members of international piracy organisations that distribute films, music and games, often before they are released to the public.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and agents from other countries carried out 120 synchronised searches in 27 US states and 10 countries starting on Wednesday, Mr Ashcroft said.

The raids were carried out in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore and Sweden.

Although no arrests were announced, Mr Ashcroft said some charges would be brought.

:evil: :angry: :(

[liesabath]

Waiting for the Gestapo to fetch me :rolleyes: :psychofun: :bigsmile: