US Government Fights Software Piracy - June 20, 1997 In a report recently disclosed by Attorney General Janet Reno, The U.S. Justice Department's "Operation Countercopy" campaign "represents one of the most important legal actions ever taken by the United States Government in the worldwide fight against piracy," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital Software Association. "Pirates throughout the world, including cyberpirates, have always known that the United States Government has the ability and the resources to seek out and punish these copyright thieves," Lowenstein continued. "Today's announcement shows they have the will to act. It means that software pirates will not only have to dodge enforcement by industry, but will also now have to look over their shoulders to see if the FBI and the Justice Department are on their heels. Their comfort zone is narrower today than yesterday and as these actions continue, pirates will truly begin to feel the heat," Lowenstein said. "Two of the cases announced by Attorney General Reno involve entertainment software and we are pleased that information which we provided to the government in recent months will help them prosecute these cases," said Lowenstein."The IDSA will continue to provide the FBI and other law enforcement agencies with the information and support necessary to make these kinds of cases". |