Piracy
Halted
April
07, 1998
Richmond, Indiana
An Illinois man has
been charged with fraud after asking SANYO-Verbatim CD Company to
replicate music he did not own, according to Indiana State Police. The
police were called by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
after being tipped off by SANYO-Verbatim.
The man, from Oak
Park, Ill., was arrested March 19 by members of the Indiana State Police
white-collar crime unit. He pleaded innocent to the charge March 24 in
Wayne County Superior Court, and the case was continued.
Ross Josephson,
manager of internal sales and corporate marketing for SANYO-Verbatim,
said the company "is determined to protect the rights of the
legitimate owners of replicated material, and to ensure that consumers
receive high-quality products with no hint of illegality."
Frank Creighton, vice
president and associate director of anti-piracy for the RIAA,
said he was pleased by SANYO-Verbatim’s actions. "Clearly, piracy
is one of the biggest threats facing our industry," he said,
"and this is a classic case of how a responsible company and the
RIAA can work together to prevent illegal actions. It sends a very
strong message to potential pirates."
According to Mike
Glover, customer service manager for SANYO-Verbatim, the man had
approached the company with a tape of music by such popular artists as
Michael Bolton and Phil Collins, and had asked that 4,500 compact discs
be produced. "We do quality checks on all incoming tapes and
masters as a matter of routine," Glover said. "In this case,
someone in our editing department became suspicious that the customer
might not have the rights to this particular material."
SANYO-Verbatim
contacted the RIAA
for verification that the man owned the rights to the recorded material.
The RIAA determined that the music, copyrighted by Sony and Warner
Brothers, had not been licensed to him. After conferring with
SANYO-Verbatim, the RIAA contacted the Indiana State Police. "We
like to bring the whole package to law enforcement, so all the police
need to do is step in," Creighton said. The arrest was made on a
state highway just outside the SANYO-Verbatim plant.
Detective Mark
Durnell, who made the arrest, told the Richmond Palladium-Item newspaper
that SANYO-Verbatim "did an honorable thing in reporting this. They
could have just taken the money and forgotten about it."
Fred Austerman, chief
financial officer of SANYO-Verbatim, said the company is committed to
working with the RIAA
and other authorities to make sure only properly licensed material is
replicated. "We work very hard to have the systems in place to
catch crimes like this," he said, "and it is good to see how
effectively SANYO-Verbatim, with the proper authorities, can make sure
no laws are violated."
To obtain further information on this
news release, contact Brian Klaine,
sales and marketing manager.
Phone: 800.704.7648
Fax: 765.935.0174
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