Two Men Sentenced for DVD and CD Counterfeiting

Two California men were sentenced on August 6, for their role in what Law enforcement are calling the largest CD and DVD counterfeiting ring ever busted.^[1] The Department of Justice asserted that the two men worked with Media Art Technology, Inc. and two other companies to distribute the faked digital media to retail outlets throughout the country and internationally; the companies pirated software from Adobe and Symantec.^[2] The group even went so far as to create fake FBI anti-piracy labels which they affixed to the counterfeit CDs, which were mostly music from Spanish-language artists.^[3]

FBI agents seized 494,000 in counterfeited CDs and DVDs from 13 locations in Texas and California. Officials also took 6,100 stampers, which are machines used to rapidly reproduce large quantities of CDs and DVDs.^[4]

"This case was the largest ever manufacturing case in U.S. history, involving massive quantities of commercially duplicated counterfeits that closely resemble authentic CDs," said Brad Buckles, executive vice president of anti-piracy for the Recording Association of America.^[5]

In June, the head of the group, Yaobin Zhai, of Fremont was sentenced to more than three years in prison and three years supervised released. He was also ordered to pay $6.9 million in restitution.^[6] U.S. District Court Judge Ronald M. Whyte sentenced Ye Teng Wen, and Hao He, on Aug. 6, to more than three years in prison and three years probation for their part in a company that burned CDs and DVDs of copyrighted software, movies and music. Both men must also pay $175,000 in fines.^[7]

18 U.S.C. § 2318 covers trafficking in counterfeit labels, illicit labels, or counterfeit documentation or packaging. The statute makes it a crime for a person to knowingly traffic in 1) a counterfeit label or illicit label affixed to, enclosing, or accompanying, or designed to be affixed to, enclose, or accompany A) a phonorecord; B) a copy of a computer program; C) a copy of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; D) a copy of a literary work; E) a copy of a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work; F) a work of visual art; or G) documentation or packaging; or 2) counterfeit documentation or packaging, this person shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.^[8]

Federal criminal defense attorney Douglas McNabb has talk about counterfeiting in this blog previously, here.

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^[1] Leslie Griffy, Pair sentenced to three years in prison for CD, DVD counterfeiting, San Jose Mercury News, August 6, 2007, available at http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6557511 (last visited August 16, 2007).
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.
^[8] 18 U.S.C. § 2318(a)(1)(A)-(G) (2007).