Software pirate lands in US jail for 12 years

A Chinese man was sentenced to 12 years in a US federal prison on Wednesday for selling pirated software worldwide worth over $100 million.

Li Xiang, a 36-year-old resident of Chengdu, in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and criminal copyright infringement, according to a statement from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

It is "one of the most significant cases of copyright infringement ever uncovered" by ICE, said the statement.

HSI identified Li as the operator of website crack99.com in December 2009. It advertised pirated software titles at less than 5 percent of the original price, varying from $20 to $1,200.

Undercover HSI agents bought pirated software from Li's website between January 2010 and June 2011, and said they were willing to assist Li with distribution of counterfeit software in US.

Li was arrested on June 7, 2011 when he traveled to Saipan, in the Mariana Islands, to deliver pirated software. He was transported to the District of Delaware, and has remained in custody.

According to court filings, between April 2008 and June 2011, Li made over 700 transactions, distributing over $100 million worth of pirated software to over 400 customers in at least 28 US states and over 60 foreign countries, according to the statement from the US Attorney's Office, District of Delaware.

The programs Li sold are controlled industrial-grade, digital tools used in a wide range of applications, including aerospace simulation, space exploration and manufacturing plant design.

Sales of pirated software exceeding a certain amount constitutes a criminal offence, Wang Qian, a professor with the Intellectual Property School of the East China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times.

"The defendant can be brought to trial where he lives, where the crime took place, and where he obtained the money, so he doesn't need to be brought back to China to be sentenced," said Wang.

Regarding the problem of rampant software piracy in China, Wang said that nowadays, he thinks people are more willing to buy the genuine product.

"But small-and-medium-sized enterprises are unwilling to buy professional software, which is usually very expensive. Meanwhile, law enforcement is limited in China, and not everyone using pirated software will be caught, so many people are reluctant to buy real software," said Wang.

China has strengthened the attack on pirated software in recent years. The central government and all provincial governments use legal software after an inspection of software piracy was implemented in 2010, while 66.15 percent of city governments and 32.85 percent of county governments have passed the inspection, according to a May report from the State Intellectual Property Office.