Entertainment Legal News

Owner Of Grocery Store Sentenced For Selling Pirated DVD'S

United States Attorney Donald W. Washington announced that Ann Bui, age 48, from Youngsville, Louisiana was sentenced in federal court today United States District Judge Richard T. Haik to 2 years probation for copyright infringement. Bui was also ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $3,000 and restitution in the amount of $2,077.04.

Bui pled guilty in October 2005 following an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement after learning that BUI was trafficking in pirated DVDs.

Bui owned and operated Michael’s Grocery located in Youngsville, Louisiana. From December 2001 through September 2004, Bui reproduced and sold pirated DVDs from her place of business. More than ten copies of copyrighted works worth more than $2,500 were sold within a 180-day period from March to September 2004. Bui did not have authorization from the copyright holder to reproduce the various
motion pictures and sound recordings. Bui violated the copyright laws for the purposes of commercial advantage and private financial gain.

As a result of her violation, BUI forfeited $29,978.45 in U.S. Currency as well as various media and computer equipment.

Sentencing in federal court is determined by the discretion of federal judges and the governing statute. United States Sentencing Guidelines established by the United States Congress and the United States Sentencing Commission are only used as guidelines by the judge in determining the appropriate sentence. Parole has been abolished in the federal system.

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	Did You Know?
	The title of Option is a defined factor When a creative entity, such as producer, artist, or studio, discovers a property and evaluates the rights status, they will, in most cases, attempt to negotiate an 'option' for the rights. An option is the right to acquire ownership of an intellectual property for a pre-determined amount of time. Size of the option payment often determines length of the agreement as well as how many forms of the rights will be included in the deal. While most option payments are subject to negotiation, script deals often work out to an even percentage of the purchase price.