Peterson's company, iBackups, described the software as legal
backup software – i.e. copies of software to be used by software
licensees for backup in case of system crashes. It is illegal to
resell such copies.
Peterson pled guilty last December to two counts of criminal
copyright infringement for illegally copying and selling nearly $20
million worth of computer software.
Peterson has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of
$5,402,448. He will begin paying off the remaining $5 million in
damages 60 days after his release from prison, at the rate of $200
per month.
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) first
alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation of possible software
piracy in 2003.
Keith Kupferschmid, SIIA’s VP of Intellectual Property Policy
and Enforcement, said: “Law enforcement’s decision to aggressively
pursue this case, I believe, sends a message to those who illegally
copy and sell software that they will be punished to the fullest
extent of the law.”
Software pirates are often not just intellectual property
thieves, but are involved in other illegal activities. Peterson was
convicted in Los Angeles for the sale of six handguns and an
illegal assault weapon to an alleged heroin dealer while he was on
bond in this case.
