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The Courts Government Entertainment Games News

Videogame Pirate Gets Long Jail Sentence 92

Posted by simoniker from the plank-officially-walked dept.
Thanks to the San Jose Business Journal for its article discussing the sentencing of a notable videogame pirate to 50 months in prison after being found guilty on charges of "copyright infringement and... mail fraud." According to the piece: "[Sean Michael] Breen... admitted that he was a leader in the Internet-based piracy group known as Razor1911. Since the early 1990s, Razor1911 had sought to achieve a reputation in the underground Internet piracy community... as the leading distributor of cracked computer and console game software." A report at GameSpot has further details, noting Razor1911 "...acquired advance copies of [videogame] titles by posing as reviewers for fictitious game magazines and having them shipped to a derelict storefront address in Oakland."
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Videogame Pirate Gets Long Jail Sentence More

Videogame Pirate Gets Long Jail Sentence

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  • Whoa... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Pxtl ( 151020 ) on Thursday February 12, 2004 @03:07AM (#8256255) Homepage
    I think I had some of their warez back in the day (considering posting anon now... fuck it). Still, I can see how the whole "posing as reviewers" thing could be crossing the line.

    Sucks to be 'em. Still, seems kinda harsh - what's Ken Lay getting again?

    • Re:Whoa... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Babbster ( 107076 ) <aaronbabb@NOspaM.gmail.com> on Thursday February 12, 2004 @04:15AM (#8256416) Homepage
      It seems that this Slashdot submission ignores the part of the article that probably contributed the most towards the 4+-year sentence:

      "Mr. Breen also admitted that he had illegally used an online customer account of Cisco Systems to order hundreds of thousands of dollars of hardware by falsely posing as one of Cisco's existing customers."
      "After receiving the hardware, Mr. Breen sold it on the grey market at a heavy discount off the normal price of the hardware, prosecutors say."

      He was stealing real physical property in addition to his software piracy. The fact that it was worth "hundreds of thousands of dollars" made the copyright violations almost superfluous. In light of those violations, the sentence doesn't seem harsh at all.

    • same here....when I was reading the summary and saw Razor1911 I felt all nostalgic and such. They definately were well known and had great "market-saturation" so to speak...

  • I for one applaud (Score:4, Insightful)

    by foidulus ( 743482 ) on Thursday February 12, 2004 @03:10AM (#8256261)
    I know I'm running a flame risk here, but I for one applaud this arrest. It's people like this that enable companies to rationalize(in lawyers terms anyway) DRM rights systems, which annoy the living crap out of people who actually pay for these things and like to support developers/artists/whatever
    Now the fact that he got caught showed just how dumb he was. Trying to steal hardware like that always leaves too many traces around, and if the company has the money, it will influence law enforcement to do the investigation. I dunno if this will start a "scared straight" program with warezers, or maybe they'll just keep to their little gated communities now. Hopefully a high-profile case of a really prolific pirates will ensure that game companies don't need to go the way of the RIAA, at least not anymore than they have.

    • MOD PARENT DOWN - CLUELESS KARMA WHORE!!! (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      It's people like this that enable companies to rationalize(in lawyers terms anyway) DRM rights systems, which annoy the living crap out of people who actually pay for these things and like to support developers/artists/whatever

      So, you've been modded +5 because you think that piracy is responsible for DRM. Right. Theft is responsible for higher prices in the shops, too. Alright.

      But let me tell you something. If piracy and theft would stop to exist there would be...

      1) less competition for people who produ
      • Why did you post this AC?

        Oh yeah. The number of /. drones who talk a good talk but really know nothing.

        Like it or not, the above poster is right. Piracy IS competition. It's basic economics. One of the forces that keeps prices down and service up is the presence of some black/grey market activity that pepole can go to if they feel it's worth it.

        This is especially true for "cultural' goods. (Mostly entertainment. It helps that it's easily copied).

        And yes, if there were no theft, prices would be higher an
  • It does make sense to be sending someone to jail for this.
    I know of many people who have made huge use of his products though.
    LAN party I held two weeks ago would have been much more dificult without the Razor hacked version of Steam (For Counter Strike) since we weren't able to keep the internet connection up.

    • Re:He'll be missed (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Kris_J ( 10111 ) *
      It does make sense to be sending someone to jail for this.
      Why? Vengance? Why not home detention or hefty fines? What possible reason other than spitefulness could the community have to go to the expense of jailing this individual? Was he violent, likely to attack video game publishers, firebomb an office?
    • LAN party I held two weeks ago would have been much more dificult without the Razor hacked version of Steam (For Counter Strike) since we weren't able to keep the internet connection up.

      What do you need Steam for? The older versions of Half-Life and Counter-strike don't require an Internet connection. Why not just use the pre-steam version? Personally I tried going back to Counter-Strike after a 1 year hiatus playing BF1942 and when I found Steam was the only real way you can play these days I gave up.

  • Doesn't bother me (Score:3, Insightful)

    by metroid composite ( 710698 ) on Thursday February 12, 2004 @03:21AM (#8256293) Homepage Journal
    I can understand using a ROM for old games; stuff you can no longer find. I haven't done it myself (...honest) but I know plenty of people who have especially for games more than five years old, and it doesn't bother me. Lying, just to get a game a few days early in order to get a jump start on cracking it is pushing things very far.

    • Re:Doesn't bother me (Score:3, Interesting)

      by tprime ( 673835 )
      For the different cracking groups (teams?) it is an ego based competition to see who can get the software cracked and available to the public the quickest. I wouldn't be surprised if any of the other big name groups do the same stunt, or have a connection with someone whose company really does the reviews. Hell, I would be willing to bet that some of the groups have connections inside of the development houses as well. Kind of makes you think about the Half-Life 2 "theft" differently...
    • I agree, with a minor stipulation: there are a few games five years old or older that are still being sold. Warcraft II comes immediately to mind. I think your first line - "stuff you can no longer find" - says it best. I have heard arguments that this restricts the company's options to re-release it, rather like Activision did with the old Infocom text adventures. All I can really say to that is, if I like a game enough that I'm using a cracked copy because I couldn't find a "legal" one and a new lega
  • To think of the people quoting about crimes such as murder getting less, it appears to be a
    straight-out scapegoating of this guy. I just hope they dont pull a Novell and give some sob the
    hardware. I dont think even OJ's lawyers could help here, since they'd be dealing with punks
    such as the SIIA.

  • A few things I'd like to mention (Score:5, Interesting)

    by __aailob1448 ( 541069 ) on Thursday February 12, 2004 @03:36AM (#8256325) Journal
    First of all, The severity of the sentence is due to the mail fraud breen engaged in. And quite a fraud it was: $600.000 (even if it's likely inflated) is no small amount of money.

    Second, this is really nothing to applaud or rejoice over. The arrest of one or two dozen pirates does not even scratch the tip of the iceberg. The authorities know it but they still bust a group or two every couple of years for PR purposes. It does not affect the so-called "warez scene" at all. All game were pirated before this happened and all have continued to be pirated afterwards.

    Third. I am very surprised to read that Razor1911 sold copies. To the extent of my knowledge, they are (Because they are still alive and kicking)a veteran and respected group in the warez scene and the one big No-No is the selling of pirated materials. In fact, Razor1911's nfo file (an .nfo file contains information about a given release and the logo and signature of the group that released it) states very clearly:
    SUPPORT THE COMPANIES THAT PRODUCE QUALITY SOFTWARE! IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PRODUCT, BUY IT! SOFTWARE AUTHORS DESERVE SUPPORT!!
    So either they are really big hypocrites or the press got it wrong (I'm gonna go with option B here...)

    And of course, stealing is wrong, I don't condone piracy, don't have sex unprotected, yadda yadda...

    • Re:A few things I'd like to mention (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      The arrest of one or two dozen pirates does not even scratch the tip of the iceberg. The authorities know it but they still bust a group or two every couple of years for PR purposes.

      Pretty much the same thing as the drug war. Make a "big" bust every once in a while to make it look like you're doing something, yet the supply is basically unchanged (or at best you cause a minor inconvience.)
      • The drug trade and the warez trade are both safety valves for society. People want distractions and so drugs are allowed to propogate, they aren't allowed to become the norm because they ruin lives and cause people to be unproductive members of society.

        The government understands that intelligent people crave information. The software industry seems to be continuing to produce and the music industry continues to produce so who needs to step in.
    • nature of such groups is that they can't control themselfs totally, or every individual.

      but yeah.. the arrests made barely a dent.. and those who were/are arrested were/are doing other criminal activities as well usually(ranging from cracking ftp's to be used as 'public ftp's or just plain _stealing_ gigabytes and gigabytes of bandwith from their work).

      not that stuff wasn't always copied by somebody when it was possible for practically free(for the copier).. from university textbooks to vhs's cassettes o

    • Re:A few things I'd like to mention (Score:5, Interesting)

      by sobeks_eye ( 637390 ) on Thursday February 12, 2004 @06:57AM (#8256825)
      All game were pirated before this happened and all have continued to be pirated afterwards.

      That's possibly the worst grammar I've ever seen in a Slashdot post.

      I like the way things are now with the piracy game. It's a safe way for kids to rebel against "the man", doesn't usually involve other vices, and is something you can grow out of when you get a job.

      For me, software piracy was something I participated in until I was about 22, inertia carrying me past my teens. As a teenager, this was the only way I had at my disposal to get the latest games (back then the latest games were of the "Bolo" and "Rescue Raiders" variety).

      As an adult, it actually cost me more in time and money to pirate games than it would have to just drop $40 on what looked the coolest. I had to invest in a CD burner, which was expensive at the time, as well as a Zip drive, and the media they required (also pricey at the time). Not to mention having a family to support meant that I had a lot more to lose than I did at 16. At 16 I was a punk with a chip on my shoulder, and never bothered to cover my tracks. Stupid. Lucky. But anyway, I grew out of it.

      Video game companies will rail and demand justice, but the kids will still be given leeway with this vice.

      The advanced copy grift was a different matter, though. First, it's a bad con -- that will always get you caught eventually. Second, it's an adult who is deliberately defrauding a company by posing as someone he's not. Screw him. I don't want him representing the software piracy market. He's a bad example. Give me back the whiz kids who buy a game (or shoplift it if circumstances warrant) and defeat the copy protection or write a crack. That's just good fun.

    • He might have received a shorter sentence, and we wouldn't want that for such a naughty person!

      I'm not claiming he didn't break the law, nor am I suggesting that he shouldn't "do the time". I'm just pointing out inconsistencies in sentencing, and how criminal geeks often get longer terms than murderers. *sigh*

  • Jailtime? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Kris_J ( 10111 ) * on Thursday February 12, 2004 @03:39AM (#8256339) Homepage Journal
    I find it hard to justify jailtime for offences relating to videogames. Hefty fines, sure. Community service, why not. But jail should be reserved for people that are a physical threat to the community. How much more is this person going to cost society during those 50 months?

    • Re:Jailtime? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Matchstick ( 94940 ) on Thursday February 12, 2004 @05:57AM (#8256680)
      The "jailtime" is for mail fraud. Read the article and you'll learn that he defrauded Cisco of $600K worth of hardware in order to sell it on the grey market.
    • He'll be a net profit to the jail system. They charge inmates for just about everything. In the states that I'm aware of, all inmates have to have some sort of work or labor to pay for it. I'd hope that he could just arrange a deal where he spends the weekend in jail for the next several years and just has a large fine to pay. Most murders usually get out under 10 years. Then again murders just target individuals, they don't target corporations so the sentences aren't as heavy. One of these days I should

    • Re:Jailtime? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Radius9 ( 588130 ) on Thursday February 12, 2004 @10:29AM (#8258197)
      I actually am a professional game developer, and I think this guy's sentence is WAY too harsh. Speaking as someone who works in the video game industry day in and day out, I have never seen anyone in the business overly concerned with piracy one way or another, its just one of those things considered a given. Anyway, the real point of my message is to say not only is this guy going to cost society for the next 50 months, but he will continue to be a cost after he gets out. Do you really think that once he gets out he will be a fine "rehabilitated" member of society, able to contribute in a positive fashion? Of course not. Personally, I think a more fitting punishment for a pirate would be to make him work in the video game industry for free, doing things like coming up with better copy protection, testing games, hell, even programming. Let him see what goes into writing a video game while gives something back to the industry that lost in the first place. But I don't believe the guy belongs in jail for piracy (if he stole hardware from Cisco, that's another matter that I'm not going to weigh in on.)
      • Personally, I think a more fitting punishment for a pirate would be to make him work in the video game industry for free, doing things like coming up with better copy protection, testing games, hell, even programming.

        Don't be silly, that would be far too sensible! Far easier to "bang em up" and be seen to be doing justice.... :-/

        I really need a cynisism cure...

      • if he stole hardware from Cisco, that's another matter that I'm not going to weigh in on.

        That's hilarious. So, you just ignore some of the charges which sent the guy up the river and declare the sentence "WAY too harsh"? It's like declaring a life sentence too harsh for a burglar who kills the homeowner during the burglary because you've decided not to "weigh in on" the murder charge.

        • My comment was a general comment about the government busting pirates, and making a big deal about Razor1911. They didn't mention enough details about the Cisco theft for me to make any sort of reasonably valid evaluation about what he may have done and/or stole. Nonetheless, I still think that putting the guy in jail for 50 months is way too harsh, even if he did steal $600,000 of Cisco equipment, and I also believe that throwing him in jail for 50 months is not going to accomplish anything. He's not go

  • Oh no, poor Guybrush! (Score:5, Funny)

    by HoppQ ( 29469 ) on Thursday February 12, 2004 @05:49AM (#8256659)
    I know Guybrush Threepwood always went around claiming to be a mighty pirate, but he really was pretty harmless. Oh well, guess the wait for the next Monkey Island game is going to be pretty long.

    What's that you say? A different kind of videogame pirate was jailed, not Guybrush? Oh, my bad, I just read the headline and assumed the worst.

  • For people who yell RTFM you should the RTFA (Score:5, Informative)

    by Bruce J L ( 693697 ) on Thursday February 12, 2004 @06:13AM (#8256722)
    Please people how many times must you be told that the jail was for stealing 600k worth of cisco hardware. Steal that much and you deserve jail time.
  • The article claims that Razor "sold" over a half-million dollars of software - don't they mean "copied and gave away?" I've seen tons of Razor releases, but never heard about them making a penny off of it.

    I know that the N.E.T. act makes it a federal crime to even _share_ illegal copies, but still, there's a difference, or at least there should be.
    • The article claims that Razor "sold" over a half-million dollars of software - don't they mean "copied and gave away?" I've seen tons of Razor releases, but never heard about them making a penny off of it.

      Maybe you didn't hear enough then. When I read the article I clearly read that in addition to spreading their warez all over Internet they also made a lot of money selling warez.

      But the summary also chose not to mention the majority of the 50 months sentence was for carding, ordering over a million doll

  • I used to work as a tester at an independent game company. I think we had one copy at the office of each of the games we played on the LAN at lunchtime. Pirate 3DS Max copies and plugins were in use. Talking to a few people who also work at a variety of studios, I've found that this is apparently a normal course of events. Hell, the developers of Farcry got raided a week ago for pirate software. Bearing this in mind, who are developers to complain about piracy?*


    *Note, I'm not condoning it, but I think the
  • He stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of actual, physical Cisco hardware. Don't feel sorry for him--feel sorry for other software reversers who make no money from their wrongdoing but do it out of a sense of social justice and a desire for Robin Hood-like notoriety.

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