The past week might well be looked back on as the moment when something changed in the world of pirate software.
The crime of selling or using illegal software has, until now, largely been considered a white collar activity, with companies or individuals breaking the law to make a quick buck or reduce costs.
But the case of Nicholas Wright, who has been jailed for 15 months for conspiracy to commit burglary after a case at Reading Crown Court, is one that changes the game slightly.
Wright was first identified as an individual selling pirate software in the autumn of 2007. At the time, he was slapped on the wrist by Microsoft, confessed to doing wrong and promised to clean up his act.
But far from turning into a model citizen, Wright then headed down the organised crime route.
Professional theft
Although the case details concentrate mainly on Wright, others were involved and three other men were sentenced. The judge spoke of an organised operation which had, over the course of May and June last year, stolen £190,000 worth of software.
Judge Zoe Smith said Wright and his three accomplices formed "part of a gang which committed professional, commercial burglaries".
That this was a gang not to be trifled with was made clear by comments from Detective Inspector Tony Lees from the Thames Valley Police Serious and Organised Crime Unit, who managed to catch the gang following an investigation.
"The impact he and the rest of this gang had was immeasurable and a considerable change has been seen in serious and acquisitive crime since they have been behind bars," he said.
Reseller target
A couple of things about the case are particularly disturbing. Firstly, Wright targeted other resellers as a source of potential goods, and as a direct result hurt the channel.
Secondly, the target was software, not the hardware which featured so heavily in the warehouse raids and truck hold-ups at Heathrow towards the end of the last century.
On the first point, Michala Wardell, head of anti-piracy at Microsoft UK, reveals that Wright was prepared to steal from other resellers, which is a development that takes piracy to another level: "It is not a victimless crime...a number of members of our channel have bought from this guy."
It will have some repercussions for those tackling piracy, because the idea that they are dealing with one broad type of person has been blown out of the water with the emergence of an organised crime connection.
"This case has shown it is a combination of different things we need to do. Sometimes it is 'feet on the street' but in other vases it has to be bolder actions. We will do all we can to work with the authorities. We do not want these types of characters in the channel," she adds.
Software demand
On the second point about software being a target for crime, it should perhaps not be a surprise that criminals are attracted to them given the ease with which large numbers of discs can be moved around and the ongoing value of applications.
A decade ago, the headlines were grabbed by those that drove vans through warehouse entrance doors or the hooded criminals who held up trucks stacked with hardware that had come off the planes at Heathrow.
But the value of hardware has dropped, and although prices are competitive the value of software has held up. It is still possible to charge a few hundred pounds for a couple of discs holding an operating system or an application suite.
Security update
The revelation that Wright targeted other resellers is the one that causes most concern in the channel. The shadow of organised crime may well force some resellers and distributors which sell and handle large amounts of software to go back and revise their security procedures.
Those fighting the software pirates have stepped up their efforts in the past 12 months to counteract the recession, which has encouraged more people to cut costs and therefore drive trade in fake software, but the message about the cost of piracy is one that still needs to get out there.
Seen largely as a victimless crime because corporations with large bank balances are the assumed casualties, the truth is that the use of illegal software directly hurts the channel.
Hidden dangers
The Wright case also shows that there is a dangerous element to piracy, raising the stakes considerably.
"It is a sad fact that people who deal with illegal goods are usually involved in other forms of criminality and anti-social behaviour," says Julian Swan, director of compliance at the British Software Alliance.
"Criminals like Mr Wright have made a living from selling sub-standard and potentially dangerous goods to the UK public, using whatever illegal means they can," he adds.
As Wright and his gang spend some months behind bars, the rest of the industry will need to recalibrate the response to piracy in light of the involvement of organised crime.
The police will need to become more closely involved and those buying software at prices that are too good to be true will need to seriously question where those goods are coming from.
The crime of selling or using illegal software has, until now, largely been considered a white collar activity, with companies or individuals breaking the law to make a quick buck or reduce costs.
But the case of Nicholas Wright, who has been jailed for 15 months for conspiracy to commit burglary after a case at Reading Crown Court, is one that changes the game slightly.
Wright was first identified as an individual selling pirate software in the autumn of 2007. At the time, he was slapped on the wrist by Microsoft, confessed to doing wrong and promised to clean up his act.
But far from turning into a model citizen, Wright then headed down the organised crime route.
Professional theft
Although the case details concentrate mainly on Wright, others were involved and three other men were sentenced. The judge spoke of an organised operation which had, over the course of May and June last year, stolen £190,000 worth of software.
Judge Zoe Smith said Wright and his three accomplices formed "part of a gang which committed professional, commercial burglaries".
That this was a gang not to be trifled with was made clear by comments from Detective Inspector Tony Lees from the Thames Valley Police Serious and Organised Crime Unit, who managed to catch the gang following an investigation.
"The impact he and the rest of this gang had was immeasurable and a considerable change has been seen in serious and acquisitive crime since they have been behind bars," he said.
Reseller target
A couple of things about the case are particularly disturbing. Firstly, Wright targeted other resellers as a source of potential goods, and as a direct result hurt the channel.
Secondly, the target was software, not the hardware which featured so heavily in the warehouse raids and truck hold-ups at Heathrow towards the end of the last century.
On the first point, Michala Wardell, head of anti-piracy at Microsoft UK, reveals that Wright was prepared to steal from other resellers, which is a development that takes piracy to another level: "It is not a victimless crime...a number of members of our channel have bought from this guy."
It will have some repercussions for those tackling piracy, because the idea that they are dealing with one broad type of person has been blown out of the water with the emergence of an organised crime connection.
"This case has shown it is a combination of different things we need to do. Sometimes it is 'feet on the street' but in other vases it has to be bolder actions. We will do all we can to work with the authorities. We do not want these types of characters in the channel," she adds.
Software demand
On the second point about software being a target for crime, it should perhaps not be a surprise that criminals are attracted to them given the ease with which large numbers of discs can be moved around and the ongoing value of applications.
A decade ago, the headlines were grabbed by those that drove vans through warehouse entrance doors or the hooded criminals who held up trucks stacked with hardware that had come off the planes at Heathrow.
But the value of hardware has dropped, and although prices are competitive the value of software has held up. It is still possible to charge a few hundred pounds for a couple of discs holding an operating system or an application suite.
Security update
The revelation that Wright targeted other resellers is the one that causes most concern in the channel. The shadow of organised crime may well force some resellers and distributors which sell and handle large amounts of software to go back and revise their security procedures.
Those fighting the software pirates have stepped up their efforts in the past 12 months to counteract the recession, which has encouraged more people to cut costs and therefore drive trade in fake software, but the message about the cost of piracy is one that still needs to get out there.
Seen largely as a victimless crime because corporations with large bank balances are the assumed casualties, the truth is that the use of illegal software directly hurts the channel.
Hidden dangers
The Wright case also shows that there is a dangerous element to piracy, raising the stakes considerably.
"It is a sad fact that people who deal with illegal goods are usually involved in other forms of criminality and anti-social behaviour," says Julian Swan, director of compliance at the British Software Alliance.
"Criminals like Mr Wright have made a living from selling sub-standard and potentially dangerous goods to the UK public, using whatever illegal means they can," he adds.
As Wright and his gang spend some months behind bars, the rest of the industry will need to recalibrate the response to piracy in light of the involvement of organised crime.
The police will need to become more closely involved and those buying software at prices that are too good to be true will need to seriously question where those goods are coming from.
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