14 DAY TRIAL // The Electronic Software Association, which aims to represent the interests of videogame makers, has hailed the sentencing of two individuals who had been involved in software and videogames piracy as a big step towards creating a secure environment in which the industry can operate and generate profits.
Kifah Maswadi is one of the two people sentenced. He entered a guilty plea on charges of criminal copyright infringement and he was sentenced on August 15 to serve fifteen months in prison, then three more years of supervised release, during which his Internet activity can be monitored, and a further fifty hours of community service. He also has to pay 415,900 dollars in damages. It seems that Maswadi had a deal with the prosecutors to reduce his sentence. It is estimated that he made more than half a million dollars from selling pirated videogames and videogame consoles.
The second man recently condemned is Kevin Fuchs and he pleaded guilty to conspiring to reproduce and distribute copyrighted works. His sentence includes eight months in prison and then a further eight months of home confinement. The man seems to have been involved in one warez operation, which obtains original games and then cracks and re-releases them to the public.
Michael Gallagher, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Entertainment Software Association, released a statement that says, "We commend the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of North Carolina and the Eastern District of Virginia and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their work in bringing these criminals to justice. The ESA and its members will continue to support law enforcement’s efforts to protect the intellectual property of our industry".
The ESA is contested as a representative of the games industry and has recently lost a few members like Activision, Blizzard and id Software.