First Software Pirate to be Convicted and Sentenced Under 1997 Net Act; Sentencing of Software Pirate Sends Strong Message That Copyright Laws Must be Obeyed On the Internet.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 24, 1999--

SPA anti-piracy, a division of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the leading trade association for the code and content industry, today congratulated Judge Michael Hogan of Oregon for sentencing Internet software pirate, Jeffrey Levy.

SIIA also extended congratulations to U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, Kristine Olson and Special Agent in charge of the FBI, Portland, Oregon Division, David Szady, whose work at the outset of this case helped to secure Mr. Levy's guilty plea.

Levy, a 22-year-old senior at the University of Oregon, was sentenced today to 2 years probation. Levy was originally forbidden from using the Internet, but the judge left the decision about Internet usage up to Levy and his probation officer after he protested that Internet access was necessary in order for him to complete his thesis.

"Today's sentencing represents a modest victory for all software companies large and small. Software piracy, and even online piracy by persons not intending to make a profit, can threaten the survival of a software company. While bigger software publishers can absorb piracy losses and still survive, it is the smaller software developers whose livelihood is dependent upon a fair return for their product, that suffer the most from software piracy. For medium and small-sized companies, software piracy, especially online piracy, can potentially be fatal to their survival. Without the financial returns, software developers cannot innovate their existing products, nor can they develop new products to release to the market," said Mike Flynn, manager, Internet Anti-Piracy.

"SIIA is confident that this conviction and sentence will spur other U.S. Attorneys to aggressively pursue cases on online piracy under the auspices of the NET Act, and send a clear message that online piracy will be vigorously prosecuted. Because Levy was the first to be convicted under the 1997 NET Act, his sentence was light. Under the NET Act, Levy could have received up to 3 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000," said Flynn.

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association of the software code and information content industry. SIIA represents more than 1,400 leading high-tech companies that develop and market software and electronic content business, education, consumers and the Internet. Hundreds of these companies look to SPA, the anti-piracy division of SIIA, to protect their intellectual property rights around the world.