Texas man pleads guilty to software piracy charges

Man pleads guilty to copyright infringement after being nabbed in raids against software piracy ring.

James Clayton Baxter of Wichita Falls, Texas, was the seventh man arrested in a software piracy ring that allegedly racked up $3 million in illegal sales from $15 million worth of pirated software goods. Baxter operated five websites that sold illegitimate products from Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft, Symantec and others.

The websites he used included Amerisoftware.com, SoftwareCB.com, Costfriendlysoftware.net, TechKappa.com, and CigTechnologies.com. He faces up to five years in prison for his crimes, and a fine of up to $250,000.

"BSA appreciates the vigorous copyright enforcement efforts of the Justice Department and ICE," said Business Software Alliance Vice President of Anti-Piracy and General Counsel Jodie Kelley.

"What is happening to Mr. Baxter as well as the rest of the Wichita Falls piracy ring should serve as a warning to other software pirates: Breaking the law has real consequences."

The BSA assisted law enforcement in the investigation, performing evidence analyses and sharing information from its member companies.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 24 Jun 2011 0:21

solamf30

Good. Only time I have a problem with piracy is when making a profit off it. If I download, it's for me and they weren't gonna get my money anyways, but if I sold it, that is an actual loss for the company, and I would be making a profit off someone else's work

24.6.2011 00:26 #1

KillerBug

Yeah...nice to see the police going after people for actual theft.

http://killerbug666.wordpress.com/

24.6.2011 03:38 #2

dEwMe

Yeah...Ballsy or maybe just stupid to try that Chinese stuff in the states.

Just my $0.02,

dEwMe

24.6.2011 13:23 #3

Interestx

Indeed, this is real 'piracy'.

Downloading for personal use at home is not & never will be, that's called sharing and it's no different to how we used to VHS stuff (including, shock horror, films) off of the TV or tape songs off of the radio.

24.6.2011 13:24 #4

LordRuss

Yup, hang him. It's one thing to take a test drive. Quite another to take the car off the lot and then sell it to your neighbor.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

24.6.2011 13:26 #5

scorpNZ

Makes no diff what spin you attempt to put on it,man up & take ownership that your a thief whether you make money from piracy or not your still a crim,comments thus far are typical of the me generation you want it without paying for it or just bone lazy & don't want to work,don't bother wasting my or anyone elses time attempting to justify or defend yourselves there is no defence or is it ok for me to steal anythng from you so long as i don't resell it..lmao..

24.6.2011 15:57 #6

warriorp

well scorp im going to tell you something. just like the old saying goes if i wasnt going to pay for it anyway there is no lost sale. and its true i have no intention of paying for it unless i really like it. last time ive been to the movies was in 2004 and the movie i seen was the grudge

"How can one enjoy his or her money with taxes so high!"

24.6.2011 17:14 #7

Hopium

Originally posted by scorpNZ: Makes no diff what spin you attempt to put on it,man up & take ownership that your a thief whether you make money from piracy or not your still a crim,comments thus far are typical of the me generation you want it without paying for it or just bone lazy & don't want to work,don't bother wasting my or anyone elses time attempting to justify or defend yourselves there is no defence or is it ok for me to steal anythng from you so long as i don't resell it..lmao..

dont come crying when you spend $50 for a game you can't even install cause the drm servers are down and then when you do get it installed its half-finished garbage. and you wouldn't be stealing anything from me you would be getting copy of something i had. if downloading a game you want to check out is theft then photocopying an article from a newspaper at the library for a project is then also theft.

24.6.2011 17:35 #8

scorpNZ

I hire then rip..lol.. so i'm pretty much guilty of thievery as everyone else,in reality if you don't want to pay for it you go without well that's theory,it cracks me up when i see posters attempting to justify their actions most of the time it's like they're trying to absolve themselves of any responsibility which apprently makes it ok..lmao..by some crazy logic it's ok to steal so long as you don't sell it,so does that mean i can break into ones home & take anything i like so long as i don't resell it after all i was never going to pay for it..didn't think so..lol..

edit:
lmao.. @Hopium's comment
Doesn't make it ok does it,there's nothing wrong with downloading to try so long as you don't keep it if you decide not to buy,however that's not how it went is it..lol..

24.6.2011 17:41 #9

smiler123

Theft may well be fun but it is also a sin ^^

Everything I have written is a lie and a product of my imagination.

24.6.2011 18:59 #10

scorpNZ

Religion is best left where it belongs & it ain't in this thread we're all sinners here

edit:
*mutley laugh*

24.6.2011 19:05 #11

xboxdvl2

Originally posted by warriorp: well scorp im going to tell you something. just like the old saying goes if i wasnt going to pay for it anyway there is no lost sale. and its true i have no intention of paying for it unless i really like it. last time ive been to the movies was in 2004 and the movie i seen was the grudge i havnt been to the movies since 2fast 2 furious was showing (and yes ended up with the original on dvd).it was a great movie.did sneak in to see one of the LOTR's movies dare i say watching an old wizard telling stories for 15minutes was boring so i left.

R.I.P. mr 1990 ford falcon.looking for a new car.computers still going good.

25.6.2011 04:53 #12

Hopium

Originally posted by scorpNZ: I hire then rip..lol.. so i'm pretty much guilty of thievery as everyone else,in reality if you don't want to pay for it you go without well that's theory,it cracks me up when i see posters attempting to justify their actions most of the time it's like they're trying to absolve themselves of any responsibility which apprently makes it ok..lmao..by some crazy logic it's ok to steal so long as you don't sell it,so does that mean i can break into ones home & take anything i like so long as i don't resell it after all i was never going to pay for it..didn't think so..lol..

edit:
lmao.. @Hopium's comment
Doesn't make it ok does it,there's nothing wrong with downloading to try so long as you don't keep it if you decide not to buy,however that's not how it went is it..lol..

um actually thats how i bought torchlight. how i bought bf2. and shogun total war. and how i bought several movies on dvd. and yeah if you came into my house and made a copy of my furniture and my coffee machine i wouldnt mind.

25.6.2011 12:57 #13

xboxdvl2

Originally posted by Hopium: Originally posted by scorpNZ: I hire then rip..lol.. so i'm pretty much guilty of thievery as everyone else,in reality if you don't want to pay for it you go without well that's theory,it cracks me up when i see posters attempting to justify their actions most of the time it's like they're trying to absolve themselves of any responsibility which apprently makes it ok..lmao..by some crazy logic it's ok to steal so long as you don't sell it,so does that mean i can break into ones home & take anything i like so long as i don't resell it after all i was never going to pay for it..didn't think so..lol..

edit:
lmao.. @Hopium's comment
Doesn't make it ok does it,there's nothing wrong with downloading to try so long as you don't keep it if you decide not to buy,however that's not how it went is it..lol..

um actually thats how i bought torchlight. how i bought bf2. and shogun total war. and how i bought several movies on dvd. and yeah if you came into my house and made a copy of my furniture and my coffee machine i wouldnt mind. i honestly dont mind if people come in and copy my music or dvds or the layout of my house or my furniture.I dont even mind lending people things (that im not using) as long as i know they are a phone call away and will it back if i need it.i dont like people stealing physical property but have no problem with them copying it as long as its not something personal (like photos).

R.I.P. mr 1990 ford falcon.looking for a new car.computers still going good.

26.6.2011 04:11 #14

smiler123

I've always used pirated software as a 'try before you buy' if you like it buy it.

As for making money from it. Well if people are stupid enough to buy copied software..............

Everything I have written is a lie and a product of my imagination.

26.6.2011 05:53 #15

LordRuss

Originally posted by xboxdvl2:
i honestly dont mind if people come in and copy my music or dvds...... That's the scary thing about the copyright infringement "thing"... 'They' want to complain that despite what you do or what you purchased, it really isn't yours. Which it ends up being more the RIAA & the MPAA and a bunch of other alphabet soup labeled individuals that seem to have rights over (say) your dvd... except the guy that directed the thing. Which is really irritating... Why do they get the money? They didn't make the movie.

And this little rant continues on in my head for the next 30 minutes...

I've already answered it twice, once in a senior thesis and a masters dissertation, but it still agitates the crap out of me...

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

26.6.2011 11:35 #16

xboxdvl2

Originally posted by LordRuss: Originally posted by xboxdvl2:
i honestly dont mind if people come in and copy my music or dvds...... That's the scary thing about the copyright infringement "thing"... 'They' want to complain that despite what you do or what you purchased, it really isn't yours. Which it ends up being more the RIAA & the MPAA and a bunch of other alphabet soup labeled individuals that seem to have rights over (say) your dvd... except the guy that directed the thing. Which is really irritating... Why do they get the money? They didn't make the movie.

And this little rant continues on in my head for the next 30 minutes...

I've already answered it twice, once in a senior thesis and a masters dissertation, but it still agitates the crap out of me... i actually went to your blog out of curiousity and had a look at your rant on piracy and how the record labels make more money that the artist.if an artist had a decent computer (or recording set up) set up and a printer and a burner they'd be better off making every cd themselves printing there own labels/cd covers and selling them.

R.I.P. mr 1990 ford falcon.looking for a new car.computers still going good.

27.6.2011 03:10 #17

LordRuss

Thanks for reading. Despite my research & experience in the business I can still be picked apart by people deeper in the industry... but not by much. You're right though, and it is exactly what a lot of the artists are experimenting with doing these days and it has the 'labels' scared to death.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

27.6.2011 15:18 #18

s_c47

Someone told me once that theres a right and wrong, and that punishment would come to those
who dare to cross the line.
But it must not be true for jerk-offs like you.
Maybe it takes longer to catch a total a__hole.

1.7.2011 16:00 #19

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