Three Indicted In Xbox Piracy Case

Author: by Laurie Sullivan, Techweb

Two Hollywood video game store owners and a third man who were charged in December for allegedly pirating video games and installing them on modified Microsoft Corp. Xbox consoles were indicted on Thursday, according to the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. Jason Jones, 34, of Los Angeles, a co-owner of ACME Game Store; Jonathan Bryant, 44, of Los Angeles, a co-owner of ACME Game Store; and Pei "Patrick" Cai, 32, of Pico Rivera were named in the indictment by a federal grand jury. The men allegedly installed illegal modification chips on the game systems that allowed users to store and play pirated video games on the Xbox game consoles. Authorities allege it allowed users to bypass copyright protection and play pirated video games. The five-count indictment accuses the three of conspiring to traffic in a technology used to circumvent a copyright protection system, infringe on a valid copyright for financial gain, and willfully infringe a copyrighted work by reproducing and distributing pirated works worth more than $1,000. The indictment also charged the three with two felony violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits trafficking in technology designed to dodge digital copyright protection technology, and copyright infringement and copyright infringement for profit. The trio are scheduled an initial appearance in United States District Court in Los Angeles on Jan. 30.