For Immediate Release
September 29, 2003
United States Attorney
District of Columbia
Roscoe C. Howare, Jr.
Judiciary Center
555 Fourth St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
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| Press Release For Immediate Release September 29, 2003 |
U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney District of Columbia Roscoe C. Howare, Jr. Judiciary Center 555 Fourth St., N.W. Washington, DC 20001 |
New York Man Sentenced in First D.C. Case Charging Music Piracy
Washington, D.C. - United States Attorney Roscoe C. Howard, Jr. and Michael A. Mason, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office announced that Alvin A. Davis, age 42, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced today before the Honorable Reggie B. Walton, United States District Judge to six (6) months incarceration, restitution of $3,329.50, one year of supervised release, and on order not to use a computer for a one-year period. The sentence arose in connection with Davis' earlier guilty plea to Criminal Copyright Infringement in connection with his sales of "pirated" music compact disks (CDs) advertised on an Internet web site operated by Davis, the first such prosecution in the District of Columbia.
In announcing today's sentence, U.S. Attorney Howard stated that, "Mr. Davis sought to profit off the hard work of others. Today's sentence sends a strong message to anyone involved in piracy that there is a significant price to pay for this kind of illegal behavior."
According to information presented to the Court, from approximately July 20, 2000, through October 3, 2002, Davis operated the website www.empirerecords.com, which offered for sale over 100 music compilations of Rap and Rhythm and Blues (R&B) artists on Compact Disks (CDs) and cassette tapes. Davis was the owner and operator of the web site.On April 11, July 2, and July 24, 2002, an FBI Special Agent, acting in an undercover capacity, purchased 21, 28, and 160 CDs, respectively, from Davis, through Empire Records. These CDs were shipped from New York to the District of Columbia, via Priority Mail and Federal Express. The CDs purchased were "pirate" compilations, that is, works by various artists and songs by individual artists that have never appeared together on a legitimately released album. Many of the sound recordings contained on these CDs are the copyrighted property of certain record companies that have the exclusive rights to manufacture, distribute, and prepare derivative works of those sound recordings. Neither Alvin Davis, Alvin Davis doing business as Empire Records, nor any of the DJs referenced on the covers of the CDs, was licensed to reproduce or distribute phonorecords embodying the sound recordings purchased by the FBI Agent. The total of these 209 CDs sold for the retail price of $15.50 per unit, equating to $3,329.50.
The copyrights infringed were the property of various companies, including: UMG Recordings, Inc.; Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.; J Records, LLC; Zomba Recording Corporation & Island Jam Music Group; V.P. Records; Arista Records, Inc.; and Warner Bros. Records, Inc.
U.S. Attorney Howard and FBI Assistant Director in Charge Mason commended the work of FBI Special Agent Melissa S. Morrow and the staff of the U.S. Attorney's Office, including Nicholas Novak, Auditor, as well as Stephen Brannon, Paralegal, U.S. Department of Justice. Howard and Mason also praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Schornstein and Jason Gull, Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section, who prosecuted the case.
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