US And UK Celebrate Anti-Piracy Busts

Officials from the Entertainment Software Association and the UK's Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association both have announced major anti-piracy raids on local manufacturers and sellers of pirated game software. In its release, the ESA has applauded the work of the Essex, New Jersey County Prosecutor’s Office for a December 8th arrest of a Newark-area man charged with modifying Xbox 360 consoles to play pirated games, as well as selling games from his home. The ESA reports that a raid on the man's home revealed a number of DVD burners, computer towers, modified Xbox 360 consoles, and hundreds of pirated DVD games. If convicted under New Jersey's Anti-Piracy Act, the Newark resident could face up to five years in prison and substantial fines. ESA president Doug Lowenstein said, “We applaud the Essex County Prosecutor’s office for its commitment to stopping intellectual property theft at its source, and we will do whatever we can to support a successful prosecution. Our industry will continue to support all law enforcement efforts to combat game piracy in its numerous forms.” Similarly, following recent news of a 'while you wait' console modder, the ELSPA has announced the successful December 6th raid of a home in Yate, South Gloucestershire during which a 31 year-old man was arrested for selling thousands of illegally copied games, DVDs and CDs. The bust revealed what the ELSPA calls an "Aladdin’s Cave of criminal activity," containing thousands of pirated Xbox, PlayStation 2, film and music discs, as well as three computers set up for mass duplication, and eight additional hard drives worth of material. Said ELSPA managing director Michael Rawlinson, “The theft of computer and video games software and any other multimedia product by copying it is illegal and has a harmful impact on both local businesses and communities. ELSPA would like to thank the efforts of everyone concerned with the Yate raid in their attempts to protect local traders and remove stolen products from the marketplace.”