Jay V. Prabhu, a trial attorney with the department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, is the first recipient of the SIAA award.

K.C. Jones, Contributor

April 17, 2007

2 Min Read

The Software and Information Industry Association has given its first anti-piracy leadership award to a lawyer at the U.S. Department of Justice.

The SIAA announced Monday that it plans to make annual awards to those who fight software and content piracy. Jay V. Prabhu, a trial attorney with the department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, is the first recipient. Prabhu joined the department in 2002 and has successfully prosecuted several software, video game, and music copyright infringement cases.

Prabhu prosecuted Nathan Peterson, of iBackups, for reselling software and won an 87-month prison sentence and more than $5 million in restitution. He prosecuted Danny Ferrar, of BuysUSA.com, which sold copies of Adobe, Autodesk, and Macromedia software. Ferrar received a six-year prison sentence and orders to pay more than $4 million in restitution.

Keith Kupferschmid, SIAA's senior VP of Intellectual Property Policy and Enforcement, said in a prepared statement that Prabhu led the department in efforts that make clear "software pirates will be punished to the fullest extent of the law."

Prabhu also lectures on computer and intellectual property crimes at universities and law schools, as well as military and government intelligence academies.

"Mr. Prahbu's work to take down some of the worst piracy offenders makes him very deserving of our first annual award," Ken Wasch, SIIA president, said in a prepared statement that described Prabhu as one of the department's top attorneys.

The anti-piracy award will recognize both government and private employees whose work has affected domestic or international piracy.

SIAA established a corporate anti-piracy program almost 20 years ago. The trade association offers rewards of up to $1 million to people whose piracy reports lead to successful settlements. SIAA also runs an Internet Anti-Piracy Program.

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