got what he deserved

[kevco]

Web site owner gets more than 7 years in prison for software piracy; must pay $5.4 million

By the Associated Press
September 9, 2006
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Virtual thievery led to real consequences.

The owner of one of the nation's largest Internet software piracy Web sites has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

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INFRINGEMENTS: Nathan Peterson, 27, of Los Angeles, sold products copyrighted by companies such as Microsoft Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc. at a huge discount on his site, iBackups.net, prosecutors said. The site began operating in 2003 and was shut down by the FBI in February 2005.



THE PRICE: In addition to Friday's 87-month sentence, U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III ordered Peterson to pay restitution of more than $5.4 million and to forfeit the proceeds of his scheme, which included homes, cars and a boat.

[Sign One]

Yikes, I think I bought some software from him, I didn't know!

[Shovelhead]

with him off of the streets for 7 years.
I'm more concerned with the rapist that will be out in 3.

[Bigdawg]

Hey Kev - good to see you back.
Damn straight he got what he deserved. If you want to blatantly cheat people/companies you've got to be prepared to pay the price!

[WVB]

I am with Shovel on this one..............

[Pro Signs & Graphix]

Victims of violent crime usually do not have the money that Microsoft and Adobe does.

[VinylCraft]

with him off of the streets for 7 years.
I'm more concerned with the rapist that will be out in 3.

No kiddin.

[Bigdawg]

I understand the sentiment (and agree with it) that Shovelhead expresses but someone who makes a living ripping off other people (no matter how big or small the company is) deserves to be behind bars. May not make me feel safer per se, but it sends a strong message out that stealing - in ANY form - will be dealt with.

[Fred Weiss]

If you knew for a fact that prosecuting these people would cut your price for software in half, would you still feel that way?

Just because the authorities went after this guy does not mean they would have been assigned to an SVU if they hadn't.

[Checkers]

Hiya Fred,
I wish I could agree with your comments, but I know that it will not happen that way. The only results produced by better enforcement of copyright laws will be higher profits for the software manufacturers.
As the technology develops (Windows Vista), you’ll see that the rules are going to change. Software manufacturers are no longer going to license software as they currently do. As it stands now, you can purchase a license once and use the software indefinitely. But, in the very near future, you’ll only be allowed to buy a license for a specific period of time. After that license expires, you’ll still be able to use the software, but you’ll have to pay a subscription to maintain the use of the software. So, if you don’t pay the subscription fee, your software can, and probably will, be rendered inoperable by the software manufacturer.
In its basic form, it’s already happening. Just look at anti-virus software. If you don’t stay current with your license or subscription, you will no longer receive updates, rendering the software useless.
Now let’s talk about how much it’s going to cost to maintain software and what types of problems we’re going to run into because of this. In the long run, I’ll bet that it’s going to cost us a lot more than we can ever imagine.

Checkers

[Pro Signs & Graphix]

Brian - You are referring to the monthly rent. At one time (not sure about now), the makers of WinPC Sign were doing this. The premise is that software can get into the hands of more users legally. Yes, it will be more expensive for those that do not care to upgrade, but somewhat more affordable for those that cannot pay for expensive softwares from the get-go.

Fred - You are right about the costs of software BUT I think instead of a reduction in consumer prices many of these companies would cite "prior losses" as the justification to keep prices inflated. I have no problem with the prosecution of wholesale bootleggers.

Just like Shovel, what I take issue with is the fact that murder often results in a lesser sentence. Another example would be the cop that was recently robbing motorists (Coconut Creek), while in uniform during traffic stops - his sentence was probation. If that were one of us it would have been felony armed robbery.

Another note that many are not aware of is the fact that many of these bootleg sites are now under the control of the FBI. It is a reverse sting type of operation that has gained momentum in recent years.

[bob]

If you knew for a fact that prosecuting these people would cut your price for software in half, would you still feel that way?

If my aunt had a johnson she'd be my uncle and if granny had wheels she'd be a wagon.

The way I feel, and don't assume that it's that way, whichever way that might be, most likely would not be altered even if the result was free software, bread, and circuses. I try to navigate through life doing or not doing this and that not because of of any particular legal obligation or injunction, but simply because that's what I choose to do or not do. I stand fully responsible for my choices.

I readily admit that I have a couple of philosophical issues with the concept of intelectual property. Especially when those notions are combined with an archaic copyright system that time and technology has long since passed by.

[Techman]

If you knew for a fact that prosecuting these people would cut your price for software in half, would you still feel that way

I do not beleive it would have any effect on the price of software whatsoever. People will pay the price if they need it. Look at what Adobe is charging for software.. Over all the price is lower now than it was years ago.

I remember purchasing lotus 123 when it first came out. Over $400 bux back then 1985. To me that was VERY expensive but I needed it for work. I also remember the hassle I went thru with lotus when I had to replace a dead hard drive just a few weeks later.. Thank god for copyII PC which saved my job and all the work..
Lotus was NOt helpfull at all other than to ask for more money. Maybe that is why Lotus is not KINg of software anymore..


Anyway,, those who sell unauthorised software are pirates and should never profit from it.

[gerald]

I remember in the early days of the computer. You could call tech support and get help. Photoshop cost as much or more then than it does now. (just an example) They sold far less copies then. And the same is for most other software companies. So what happened. They sell more, it costs more and service is far less. I never call tech support anymore. I just get on the net and look for the answer. It's too much trouble now.

So, I don't have a lot of sympathy for them. I understand what and how it works and why they want paid for theur product. I would too. But I don't like being dictated to. You have to bundle this to get that or you pay double.

I can't help but see a big change in the software business someday, just like the hardware. The 2000.00 laptop can ow be bought for 900.00. The same for desktops. It has to happen to software.

[SirSlarty]

Catch any pirate of software, music, movie or any media most likely won't change the price of said media because these companies know we're already willing to pay the price on that sticker.

[iSign]

the price that gets cut in half is the future inflated prices we will be paying if nothing is done. Sure, prices that are already high, partly due to theft, will not be easily lowered... but if theft takes a dramatically bigger bite out of profits, future prices will spike pretty fast. If the pirates are sent a strong message, manufacturer losses & our prices will increase as fast.

As for violent crime, there are too many million incidents to grab hold of one or 2 & hold them up next to each other for comparison. That is utterly pointless. One crime is up for discussion here & I'm glad to see a stiff penalty imposed.

[Arlo Kalon]

I battled once over to report a BIG employer whose IT dept routinely distributed cracked versions of high dollar big name software to anybody in the company who wanted it. I remember having the head guy work on a machine for me personally. When I picked up the CPU, he said "wait 'til ya get home and see what I did for ya!"

I had every recent version of every design, animation, & website program out there, as well as full compliment of CAD & 3D programs. I suddenly felt very ill at ease... the notion that I'd be online someday and all of a sudden a window would pop up and say BUSTED!!! resounded in my head. I deleted all but one that I just had to have... hey, I'm human, and I DIDN'T DO IT!!! Yeah yeah, I DO know!

Really, it seemed to me that if this big mfr ever learned that someone backed up an 18 wheeler rig and loaded up a truck full of free products from them, they woulda pursued it to the hilt obviously. BUT they fully supported their IT dept doing just that to OTHER mfrs!!!

[Rigo]

with him off of the streets for 7 years.
I'm more concerned with the rapist that will be out in 3.

deffinetly agree with you on that..

[Marlene]

Did you check the date on that post? It's kind of old.

[KR3signguy]

Gee, you can hang your dogs & get less of a sentence.

[WVB]

Gee, you can hang your dogs & get less of a sentence.

What is the sentence term of Vick's plea of guilty anyways..?

[gvgraphics]

What I like is the ones on Ebay that are offering fonts, clipart or programs and say that the program is free, you are only paying for the disk and their time. I have seen it several times in the past on there.

[weaselboogie]

Does anyone remember the post office saying that they are raising their stamp prices because of everyone using e-mail about 10 years ago??

I thought that was the biggest load I ever heard. They needed a scapegoat. There wasn't that many people using email that weren't sending personal letters.

[Bogie]

Hey, how you gonna feel when the sign shop across town suddenly starts copying all your designs? Same thing.

Most of the ebay stuff is actually free public domain stuff. I maintain a copy of Open Office (I work with academics), and the sucker is FREE. And darn near as good at Mickeysoft's package, if not better. There are folks on ebay who will happily send you an installable disk for a few dollars, basically just a copy fee. Some folks don't have broadband. Some folks just want to fondle a disk.

Whatever.

[geb]

Vick , December 10 sentencing, I believe, 18 months to 5 years is what I keep hearing??????

George

[eforer]

I need to forward that post to the spam company that keeps sending me "discount" offers for CS3! I don't know how I got on that list, but something tells me that if they are selling viagra and photoshop via sleazy emails with filter busting schemes that its not on the up and up :wink: If its too good to be true it probably is.

What's a businesses liability if they buy illegal software on good faith? I don't really want to find out, so I'll keep writing Adobe dealers un-reasonably large checks.

FYI, I was involved for a long time in the 3D computer graphics industry. Most of that software has gotten better AND cheaper. Maya unlimited used to be over 20k, now its like 7k. Adobe didn't get the memo on pricing I guess.

[bevets]

Reminds me of when I purchased Quick Books pro...I call them for one simple question (tech Support) They tell me I need to purchase the info for tech at some ridiculous price per minute...This was years ago, maybe it's different now...I doubt it! I do not feel sorry for some of these software companies! most of it is crap..... But this dude probably deserves some time nevertheless

steveb

[Replicator]

Thats a Bummer . . . What a $#!THEAD . . . !

[trakers]

Were software (and music) appropriately priced "piracy" would all but disappear amongst the average, everyday Joe. There would no need for crippling DRM or copy "protection" and companies would make *more* money.

Instead they are all steering towards including ana1 surveillance probes with each new release. Virtually all new software now "phones home" for activation. I am just astounded how people put up with that crap without revolting.

Like one of the fellas above said, Open Office. Free and works great. Now of there were just an "Open Flexi".....

[DARLAK]

Were software (and music) appropriately priced "piracy" would all but disappear amongst the average, everyday Joe. There would no need for crippling DRM or copy "protection" and companies would make *more* money.



NOT!!!

if software and music were a penny there would still be people trying to hack it for free, its just in there nature.

it is why the hacker will always beat the man, he doesn't care about profit and will work 24 hours a day to crack something because it is his passion...

[Trimtint]

ahh if adobe or any other corel etc gave a care they would dongle it. You aint seen flexi 8 cracked yet its a hard one to do. If they honestly didnt want the software that available they would protect it. All in all i bet 40% of the people on this board have some kind of pirated software. We FINALLY OWN flexi 8 designer flexi dx and onyx 7 postershop. Oh and Darlak ur right it is passion :)

Snapper

[iSign]

Did you check the date on that post? It's kind of old.


yeah... what she said :rolleyes:

[B Snyder]

You aint seen flexi 8 cracked yet its a hard one to do.


http://btjunkie.org/torrent/SCANVEC-AMIABLE-FLEXISIGN-PRO-V8-1-R1-MAGNiTUDE-cr/43248837ecf21cae4f1100868c721d344954555074a3
:rolleyes:

FWIW, I'm still on version 5.8. :)

[Bogie]

Yeech.

I'm personally thinking that more than a few programs have some back doors in 'em - A new release comes out, and suddenly the old release starts having problems... "Bubba, we don't support that anymore - you gotta upgrade."

[cOrKinSA]

http://btjunkie.org/torrent/SCANVEC-AMIABLE-FLEXISIGN-PRO-V8-1-R1-MAGNiTUDE-cr/43248837ecf21cae4f1100868c721d344954555074a3
:rolleyes:

FWIW, I'm still on version 5.8. :)
Thats a 14mb file so you gotta know that's a virus or else SA International would be putting Version 8 on Flash Drives.

[SirSlarty]

Thats a 14mb file so you gotta know that's a virus or else SA International would be putting Version 8 on Flash Drives.

The comments section also state that it's a fake and a virus.

Rule of thumb, don't trust wares files.

[B Snyder]

Good point guys. I didn't notice that. I just searched for cracked flexisign 8 and that link came up. I'm sure it won't be long before a working hack starts to circulate.

[hammered]

You aint seen flexi 8 cracked yet its a hard one to do.
Its one of the Programs offered to me here by a now banned member. Yeah its been cracked.

[Pat Whatley]

If it's like most programs the cracked version was out there before the legit version ever hit the market.

You know there's a problem when the guy I used to work with routinely had programs before they were officially released and movies before they hit the theaters.

[digitalgraffiti]

I am all for prosecuting bootleggers of software, music and other media. it is no different than doing a layout and logo design for a client who went to the competition to get their sign work done.

But the idea that reducing the software piracy will lower our prices, even though theoretically should happen is a load of crap.

The big software boys are amonst the same corporations that told us that exporting all the jobs to India, would lower prices for us.
I'm still waiting for that to happen for all those goods that are produced overseas.

[N2Harpz]

String him up at sundown !! He is right up there with the single mom they prosecuted a while back for downloading songs off of Napster..... LOL ... I feel much safer now.

[JimJenson]

Market value- the price a seller is willing to sell for -and- the price a buyer is willing to pay.

You will always pay market value, never less. I dont care how many pirates are nabbed.

[whisperbreanna]

Our cost on suplys have been going up since 911 and so have our prices.Everyone blames it on oil prices but if gas went down to .79 a gal. We couldn't cut our prices only Walmart has that power

[ScottyDoo]

Thats a 14mb file so you gotta know that's a virus or else SA International would be putting Version 8 on Flash Drives.

It's only 14MB because it's merely the crack, not the program itself.

Cracking a dongle can be tricky, but can be done somewhat easily by someone who is skilled enough with the process. There isn't much demand for many sign apps these days in the scene, so they often times don't go through the trouble. There hasn't been an Omega copy floating around since 2.1 and Flexi 8.1 was the last cracked version. The release groups do it for the thrill and the notoriety amongst their peers in the scene, so releasing an app that no one wants to download because it's not a big name popular product does nothing for them, so they don't even attempt. Another reason is because they often don't have access to full copies of it to work on cracking it anyway. That's why they're always looking for suppliers to get copies of stuff for them to crack and release.

Regardless...if you're using a product to make money, then there's no excuse, you need to pay for it. It's just the legal thing to do.

[Replicator]

Read this story again and think this guy was a moron for trying to profit from illegal activity in the public domain of the internet . . .

How stupid could he be to do this ?

:Oops:

[joeshaul]

Cracking a dongle can be tricky, but can be done somewhat easily by someone who is skilled enough with the process.


It helps a lot when Aladdin and company have documents and API listed on their site! :)

[cartersigns]

I was talking to a client today who said he got a letter in the mail last week from "some lawyers in the States". Apparently the person he had design his website back in 2004 used a picture they got off the internet somewhere. The letter is from Getty Images and says the image needs to be removed immediately and he is required to pay $12,000 or something like that. He said...well I can't repeat what he said they could do with their letter.

[graphix]

i'm with kid rock..
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1214033228/bclid1213953599/bctid1619484115

[SignAttack]

Did just smoke a roll in the end LOL
Well I am off to the BMW dealership to steal a M3 I always wanted one
They won't miss the 60 grand and Kid rock says it OK
Best part of this case is that kids that are dumb enough to watch that, will do what he said

[SignAttack]

Did he*

[cOrKinSA]

i'm with kid rock..
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1214033228/bclid1213953599/bctid1619484115
The tread was brought up in April and even longer before that. Don't you know Piracy doesn't exsist anymore!?

[mrmoto95]

with him off of the streets for 7 years.
I'm more concerned with the rapist that will be out in 3.

Or a murderer out in 2