Legal Niches

ESA Lauds Slammer Time For California Game Bootlegger

By gamepolitics

The head of the Entertainment Software Association has praised the 10-month sentence handed down to a San Jose media pirate.

As GamePolitics reported last December, Khuong Van Truong's trouble with the law began when his 2-year-old son wandered into a busy intersection. When police returned the toddler to his home, they discovered the pirating operation as well as a variety of alleged drugs.

Police seized more than 11,000 bootleg video games, 4,000 DVDs and 300 audio CDs. The pirated goods were valued at an estimated $420,000. ESA CEO Michael Gallagher praised the sentence:

Significant jail sentences in cases like Van Truong's highlight the seriousness of game piracy as a crime and reflect the material harm inflicted on the artists and entrepreneurs who make computer and video games possible.

We applaud the work of both the San Jose Police Department and the Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney for their hard work and dedication to bringing this game pirate to justice.  The ESA and its members will continue to support all law enforcement efforts to prosecute any individuals involved in the theft of entertainment software to the maximum extent of the law.

GP: To be honest, the jail time seems rather light from here, given that Van Truong was described by the San Jose Mercury-News as one of the biggest pirates on the West Coast.

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on May 06, 2009 (boomark / email).