A San Jose Vietnamese seller who stocked a roomful of pirated games, DVD’s and music was fined $5,000 and sentenced to 10 months in jail, according to a press release from the Entertainment Software Association press release here.
Khuong Van Truong was caught when police raided his home in March 2008 and supposedly found “over 11,000 pirated video games, multiple game consoles and computer hardware used in the production of pirated game software.” He also had “4,000 pirated movie DVDs and over 300 pirated audio CDs.”
Khuong Van Truong pleaded guilty in December, and on April 22 a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge sentenced him to 10 months in jail and ordered him to pay the ESA $5,000 in restitution.
The press release quotes the CEO of the ESA as saying “Significant jail sentences in cases like Van Truong’s highlight the seriousness of game piracy as a crime and reflect the material harm inflicted on the artists and entrepreneurs who make computer and video games possible.”
Maybe, but consider this:
11,000 games + 4,000 DVDs + 300 CDs probably add up to $100,000. Maybe more.
The cost to ESA of investigating Khuong Van Truong, and the cost to the police of running the raid, is probably at least $30,000.
And the likelihood that Truong will actually spend all 10 months in jail is nil.
How many people think sentences like this actually reduce piracy?
If you spend one night in jail, you’ll know that 10 months is a long time away from home and all the comforts accompanying it. Don’t make such rash assumptions before coming to a conclusion. This man is not a murderer, the nature of the crime is nonviolent, it does not involve drugs, does not involve illegal weapons, does not involve counterfeit money, did not rape anyone, did not kidnap anyone, and did not molest little girls. Now, if you want to write an article about how rapists and child molesters don’t do enough time or pay enough retributions, that would be a great article with your bottom line opinion stated on this article.