Tuesday, April 19, 2005 · Last updated 6:17 a.m. PT
China sentences U.S. citizens for piracy
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SHANGHAI, China -- A court in Shanghai has sentenced two U.S. citizens to jail terms of up to 2 1/2 years in prison for selling pirated DVDs online in a case China has used to highlight the difficulties of enforcing anti-piracy laws.
Shanghai No. 2 District Court judge Xue Zheng ordered Randolph Hobson Guthrie, 38, to serve a two-year, six-month jail sentence and pay a $60,500 fine for selling pirated DVDs. Fellow American Abram Cody Thrush, convicted as an accessory, was sentenced to one year in prison and fined $1,200.
A charge of illegally operating a business was dismissed.
The four people on trial were accused of using the Internet to sell more than 180,000 counterfeit DVDs to buyers in 25 countries. Officials said about 20,000 of the DVDs were sold to American buyers.
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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/aptech_story.asp?category=1700&slug=China%20US%20Piracy