Hew Raymond Griffiths (born 8 November 1962, UK) was accused by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

of being a ring leader of

DrinkOrDie DrinkOrDie (DoD) was one of the most prestigious underground software piracy group and warez trading network during the 1990s. On 11 December 2001 a major law enforcement raid - known as Operation Buccaneer - forced it to close under criminal ...

or DOD, an underground software infringement network, using the online identity of "Bandido". Griffiths was living in Berkeley Vale in the Central Coast Region of

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

before he was placed on remand at

Silverwater Correctional Centre The Silverwater Correctional Complex, an Australian maximum and minimum security prison complex for males and females, is located in Silverwater, west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The complex is opera ...

. After fighting extradition for almost 3 years, Griffiths was finally extradited from

to the

and on 20 February 2007, appeared before Magistrate Judge Barry R. Portez of the

U.S. District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. On 20 April, it was announced by the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

that Griffiths had entered a plea of guilty. Griffiths' case is of interest in that he is an Australian resident who was indicted by a court in

Virginia, United States Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

and conspiracy to infringe copyright under the US Code. Griffiths, born in the United Kingdom, had never at any point physically left Australia since arriving in his adopted country at an early age. This is an unusual situation as the US government, in attempting to extradite Griffiths, was not targeting a fugitive or a dangerous person who had financially profited from his activities. However, the Australian courts and executive government agreed to treat Griffiths' activities as having taken place in a US jurisdiction. The case therefore highlights the serious consequences for Australian Internet users who are charged with distributing US copyright-protected material. Griffiths' extradition was very controversial in Australia, where his actions were not criminal. The matter of ''United States v. Griffiths'' has been cited as an example of how bilateral arrangements can lead to undesirable effects, such as a loss of sovereignty and what some have described as draconian outcomes. On 22 June 2007, Griffiths was sentenced to 51 months in prison for conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. Taking into account the 3 years he spent in Australian and US prisons prior to sentencing, he served a further 15 months in the US. Griffiths' sentence attracted significant attention in Australia, and some attention in the United States and other countries which have recently signed, or are currently negotiating, bilateral Free Trade Agreements with the US. Griffiths finally returned to Australia on 2 March 2008, after 5 weeks as an illegal alien in the US immigration detention system following his release from prison on 26 January 2008. A condition of his repatriation to Australia was that he never again re-enter the United States.

References

Aussie software pirate extradited

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

, 7 May 2007
Software pirates not safe at home

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

, 7 September 2004.
Accused web pirate back behind bars

, 8 July 2004.
The unsolicited views of Internet Users
broadbandreports.com blog, 17 July 2004.

12 March 2003. * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071011102314/http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_3/rimmer/index.html Robbery under arms: Copyright law and the Australia–US Free Trade Agreementby Matthew Rimmer, First Monday, March 2006.
How To Kill A Country: Australia's Devastating Trade Deal With the United States
paper by

Linda Weiss Linda M. Weiss is an Australian political scientist known for her work in comparative and international politics, particularly in economic development and state capacity. She currently serves as Professor Emeritus in Government and International ...

, Elizabeth Thurbon & John Mathews,

Evatt Foundation The H.V. Evatt Memorial Foundation is an Australian think tank founded in memory of Australian politician, judge, historian and diplomat H. V. Evatt. It is based in Sydney, with members and supporters from around the world. It is a progressive o ...

, 2 April 2005.
Global Software Piracy costing $54 Billion in 2005 – Computing.co.uk
23 May 2006.
Australian Copyright Act 1968Copyright Law of the United States of America contained in Title 17 of the US Code

IP Chapter of AUSFTA 2004

'Bandido' Software Pirate Arraigned In U.S. On 2 Charges
Information Week, 21 February 2007.

Opinion Article by Richard Ackland,

, 16 February 2007.
BitTorrent issues weblog
21 April 2007.

23 April 2007.
Australian alliance issues weblog
8 May 2007.

22 June 2007
Discussion on Australian Larvatus Prodeo blog of extradition
18 February 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Hew Raymond 1962 births Living people Central Coast (New South Wales) Warez Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Australian people imprisoned abroad People extradited from Australia Foreign nationals imprisoned in Australia People extradited to the United States British people imprisoned in the United States

See also

References