14 DAY TRIAL // A Texas man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for instrumenting a software piracy scheme, which involved selling over $1 million worth of unlicensed computer programs over the Internet.
Todd Alan Cook, 24, of Wichita Falls, Texas, pleaded guilty on March 11, 2010, in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, VA, to a count of criminal copyright infringement.
According to prosecutors, Todd Alan Cook, along with his father Robert D. Cook and another individual, sold pirated software through three different websites.
The scheme lasted from July 2006 until May 2008 and the combined retail value of the counterfeit programs was over $1 million.
Cook was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III, who also ordered him to serve three years of supervised release following the prison time and pay $599,771 in restitution to the copyright owners.
The Business Software Alliance, a trade group representing some of the largest software companies in the world, revealed in a press release that Cook sold counterfeit products from Adobe Systems, which is one of its members.
"BSA was pleased to work with the Justice Department throughout the Todd Alan Cook investigation, and we appreciate their commitment to identifying, pursuing and prosecuting all individuals who commit software piracy," said Paul Fournier, Manager of Internet Investigations for BSA.
"With such extensive counterfeit software sales topping $1 million, this sentencing was a great success for the law enforcement community.
"Others who attempt to illegally profit from the distribution of unauthorized software should think twice before risking such stiff legal and economic penalties," Fournier added.
Robert D. Cook also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 3.
Todd Alan Cook's case was handled by the Intellectual Property Task Force of the Department of Justice, and his guilty plea marks the department's forty-sixth successful conviction in a case involving online commercial distribution of pirated software.