`Robin Hoods of cyberspace' plead guilty to federal copyright charges
HARTFORD, Conn. Three men have pleaded guilty to putting (m) millions of dollars worth of computer games, movies and software on the Internet -- for free. The so-called "Robin Hoods of Cyberspace" say they made no money on the scheme. They just did it for fun. Investigators say the software was copied and sold for pennies all around the world.
The trio -- two from New York and one from California -- pleaded guilty to federal copyright charges in a Connecticut courtroom today. They said they used a coded system of chatrooms and Web sites to shuttle the goods.
They're the first Americans convicted in what the Justice Department is calling the largest-ever probe into software piracy.
The three have been released without bail until they're sentenced in July. Their plea bargains call for sentences of about three to six years.
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