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Pirated Software + eBay = Jail Time

by Tim Stevens on April 2, 2007 at 08:10 AM


For one Indiana man, the greatest flea market in the world turned out to be his ticket to a 27-month stay in federal (insert colorful description here) prison. Courtney Smith used eBay to purchase an illegal copy of industrial factory-management software developed by Rockwell Automation Inc., best known for their transmissions and sponsorship of NASCAR's Danny Hamlin. Courtney Smith made a copy of that copy then started selling it himself. The software, which typically sells for around $22,000, was being sold by Courtney for on average $112 over 37 auctions, netting him a grand total of $4,149.97. As part of his sentence he was ordered to pay Rockwell $5,200.45 along with a further $2,000 fine. So, if there's a lesson here, it's that crime can pay, but it isn't necessarily a profitable endeavor.

From PC World


Tags: eBay

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