SIIA News

FISD, Finextra Announce Webcast Series Partnership

The Financial Information Services Division (FISD) of the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) and Finextra, the leading independent newswire and information source for the worldwide financial technology community, announce a new partnership to produce a series of webcasts in 2010.

The FISD/Finextra Webcast Series will focus on real‐time data management and delivery, reference data, and standards. The events will be hosted in‐studio and broadcast via real‐time streaming video to an invited audience of financial professionals. Participants will be able to interact with panelists to deepen the value of the discussion.

Alternatively, webcasts may be recorded and then broadcast via the web at a specific event time. Both versions will be offered on an on‐demand basis after the web event for additional exposure.

Tom Davin, Managing Director of FISD, stressed the value of the new webcast series to the industry: “A survey of FISD members revealed that more of them would like to interact with FISD programs and thought leadership via more sophisticated technologies. Our partnership with Finextra aims to provide timely and relevant topics and discussion to our member base and beyond via interactive video content.”

The FISD/Finextra Webcast series creates new opportunities to advance thought leadership and industry expertise. Firms interested in organizing panels and presentations will be able to address leading industry topics while connecting with a wide base of existing and prospective clients.

Combining Finextra’s community of 135,000 monthly users and the FISD’s global membership of 140 firms provides sponsors with an excellent outreach platform. Over 2,500 market professionals have registered to attend Finextra video webcasts since March 2009.

Nick Hastings, Managing Director of Finextra, highlighted the value of the Finextra/FISD Webcast series: “This new service will provide the industry with a forum to discuss and learn about key issues affecting global data management via emerging and innovative communication mediums.”

About Finextra
Finextra Research provides an independent online resource – www.finextra.com – to serve the information needs of the worldwide financial technology community. It covers finance‐specific innovations, services, solutions, applications and technologies. Finextra also provides a database of 31,000 financial technology news stories, a comprehensive solutions directory and a catalogue of company announcements from all major technology providers to banks and financial institutions.

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SIIA Says 21-Month Federal Jail Sentence for Software Pirate Demonstrates Consequences of Software Piracy

For Immediate Release
SIIA Communications Contact: John Crosby, 202.789.4469, jcrosby@siia.net
PR Agency Contact: Beth Dozier, 202.429.1883, bethdozier@rational360.com

SIIA Says 21-Month Federal Jail Sentence for Software Pirate Demonstrates Consequences of Software Piracy

SIIA Initiated Action Against Counterfeiter Responsible for Cheating Nearly 8,000 Consumers

Washington, D.C. (January 12, 2010) – The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, today called the sentencing of convicted software pirate Matthew Purse a major victory and an indication of how seriously the justice system treats software piracy. Purse was sentenced yesterday to 21 months in federal prison. He also received 3 years probation and $12,000 in fines and restitution.

SIIA initially discovered several massive software piracy schemes and began an investigation that eventually led to the indictment and conviction of Purse. SIIA forwarded the results of its investigation to the U.S. Department of Justice and other government agencies, and then worked closely with them to pursue Purse and others involved in the piracy schemes. On February 26, 2009, Purse pled guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and criminal copyright infringement. Purse and his accomplice, Christopher Loring Walters who remains a fugitive, engaged in the illegal mass duplication of software and sold it using various eBay accounts and commercial websites, such as SoftwareDiner.com.
Following Purse’s sentencing in Phoenix federal court, Keith Kupferschmid, SIIA Senior Vice President for Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement, issued the following statement:

“Anyone who thinks software piracy isn’t taken seriously should pay close attention to the Matthew Purse case. The 21-month jail term that he will serve is a warning to all would-be counterfeiters that the crime carries steep costs and real consequences. When SIIA uncovers software piracy, the offenders often end up paying thousands of dollars in damages. And as Mathew Purse found out, SIIA’s investigations can also lead to jail time for these software pirates.”

“Matthew Purse duped nearly 8,000 unsuspecting consumers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He and Christopher Walters cheated software companies such as Adobe, Symantec, Apple, Corel, Intuit and many others out of millions of dollars in revenue. Like so many others who sell pirated software online or make illegal copies in the workplace, at least Matthew Purse is now finding out that the justice system takes this crime seriously.”

“SIIA leads the industry’s most aggressive campaign against software piracy. Through our own efforts, and through working with the Department of Justice and other government agencies, we pursue and stop pirates operating in the workplace and on the Internet. Our Internet Anti-Piracy Program continues to identify and shut down sites that peddle pirated software and helps make sure those responsible are brought to justice.”

About SIIA
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to more than 500 leading software and information companies. For further information, visit: www.siia.net.

About SIIA Anti-Piracy
The Software & Information Industry Association’s Anti-Piracy Division conducts a comprehensive, industry-wide campaign to fight software and content piracy. The pro-active campaign is premised on the notion that one must balance enforcement with education in order to be effective.

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