The Business Software Alliance is pressing charges against 25 people the organization accuses of trafficking pirated software on the Internet.
US Marshals reportedly seized five computers and performed unannounced searches in the homes of several of those accused of the pirating, including residents of Sacramento and Downey, California, and Troy and West Bloomfield, Michigan.
The accused individuals could face up to US$100,000 in fines for copyright infringement, the BSA said.
The individuals were allegedly using a channel on Internet Relay Chat, a real-time chat network commonly used by hackers and crackers to communicate and plan their activities. The channel, called warez4cable, has been shut down, according to the BSA, as well as several other warez channels.
Warez refers to software that has been stripped of its copy-protection and made available on the Internet for downloading.
The BSA said in a statement that the action against the warez users is part of an initiative to "shut down illegal trafficking of software on the Internet."
"We have seen an immediate impact on piracy in IRC channels as a result of the lawsuit," BSA enforcement official Bob Kruger said. "BSA will continue to fight piracy on the Internet to keep it a safe place for those who are engaging in legitimate commerce."
