Jail for modders
Two employees of a game store owned by Movie Gallery, a parent company of Hollywood entertainment, and a third man are facing up to 17 years in jail. The official charge states the pair will be trialed for 'modifying Xbox video game consoles to disable copy protection, and preloading copyrighted games onto the machines for sale'.
The men were investigated by the Entertainment Software Association, whose investigators reported that they had bought a modified Xbox from the store in May 2005.
Jason Jones, 34, of Los Angeles, Jonathan Bryant, 44, of Los Angeles, both co-owners of ACME Game Store, and Patrick Cai, 32, stand in front of a grand jury at the United States District Court in Los Angeles on Jan. 30.
It could be a sharp shock to potential modders if a heavy sentence is imposed. Compare the 17 year sentence to the possible sentence of Gary Glitter. The maximum sentence for his charge of 'lewd acts with minors' is 12 years. It will probably be substantially less. It's a totally different comparison but I can't see any justification for putting these modders away for a long prison term. Some people will argue that the sentence, whatever it may be, will be justified. Personally I feel it's corporate America gone mad. Let's hope that the judge uses his common sense on the day of trial.
