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Illegally Reproduced Software
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced that Dennis Baker, 42, of San Jose, was indicted today by a federal grand jury on one count of criminal copyright infringement in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 506(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C.§ 2319(b)(1). According to the indictment, the criminal complaint, and an affidavit filed in connection with this case, Mr. Baker is alleged to have operated a website in 1996 through which he made pirated copies of business and game software available for sale. In mid-1996, he made three sales of CD-ROMs containing unauthorized copies of numerous pieces of software. Mr. Baker mailed the packages from San Carlos. At the time that Mr. Baker made the sales, he offered software for sale on his website that had a retail value of approximately $2.4 million. According to information in the public record, Mr. Baker became aware of the charges pending against him and fled the United States for Asia in August 1998. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) recently tracked Mr. Baker to
Malaysia, and the United States State Department revoked his passport. After that, Malaysia revoked his authorization to remain in that country, and he was placed on a plane for the United States. Mr. Baker was placed under arrest by the FBI when he returned to the United States on September 3, 2002. The maximum statutory penalty for this offense is five years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and restitution. However, any sentence following conviction would be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and would be imposed in the discretion of the Court. An indictment simply contains allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Mr. Baker must be presumed innocent unless and until convicted. Mr. Baker made his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco on September 4, 2002. He is currently detained without bail. The defendant’s next scheduled appearance is at 9:30 a.m. on September 18, 2002 for arraignment before Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero. The prosecution is the result of a six-year investigation by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Susan Badger is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Helen Yee. AUSA Badger is a member of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section (CHIPS) of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco. A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can. Related court documents and information may be found on the District Court website at www.cand.uscourts.gov or on
http://pacer.cand.uscourts/gov. All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415)436-7181.
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