NCJ Number
218518
Journal
Crime, Law and Social Change Volume: 46 Issue: 4-5 Dated: 2006 Pages: 207-221
Date Published
2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article describes Operation Buccaneer, a law enforcement operation against the highly organized but globally dispersed Internet-based software piracy group known as “DrinkOrDie.”
Abstract
Operation Buccaneer was the first law enforcement exercise that targeted criminal copyright infringement involving cooperation and simultaneous searches and arrests in several countries. The law enforcement operation has become a model for the investigation and prosecution of Internet-based crimes, such as fraud and child pornography. The analysis focuses on the cross-national investigation and prosecution aspects of Operation Buccaneer and considers the way in which Operation Buccaneer redefined the landscape of intellectual property enforcement. The operation was directed against the activities of DrinkOrDie, which included the release of the Windows 95 operating system over the Internet 2 weeks prior to its official release date by Microsoft. Operation Buccaneer was headed by the U.S. Customs Service and the Department of Justice and extended into several European countries and Australia. The operation led to the simultaneous execution of over 70 search warrants in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, Sweden, and Finland on December 11, 2001. The searches led to the seizures of over 130 computers. Over the next few years, over 20 defendants were convicted and imprisoned for copyright and other offenses. Most convictions occurred in the United States with some related prosecutions won in the United Kingdom and Scandinavian countries. The details of the legal proceedings in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia are described. They are noteworthy because the prosecutions involved the use of evidence from across national borders. Table, footnotes