Dallas Texas man Robert Campbell pleads guilty to copyright infringement

Bootlegged CD's may cost
store owner five years in prison

Robert Campbell Jr. who worked at a store with the original name “Movies and CD’s” at 9009 Bruton Road, Suite 101, in Dallas, Texas, got an unpleasant and belated Valentine’s day present last February 15th. The FBI arrested him for bootlegging over 150 CD’s and DVD’s and selling them for five bucks a crack. Campbell’s father in law, Osborn Lowe, was indicted on copyright infringement and aiding and abetting charges, as well.  The pirated CD story regarding Campbell and lowe in the Herald Banner

"Campbell burned copies of movies for $5.00 while customers waited"

According to the FBI press release, Campbell spent six months working for his father in law, Osborn Lowe, who is the owner of the store. During his apprenticeship, Campbell burned copies of movies for $5.00 while customers waited. He then placed them in blank white jackets and quietly collected the fee for pirating original works of art. The titles of the bootlegged CD’s include, ‘Why did I get married”, “Bee Movie”, " The Brave One” and perhaps the title most fitting for Campbell, “Mad Money”.  Why break the law for $5.00?  You can buy Why did I get married for $10.00 here!

Below is a map to the Osborn Lowe store,

Movies and CD's

Robert took a plea deal today admitting his guilt. His maximum sentence is 5 years with a fine of up to $250,000 bucks. That is a lot of money to repay for making five bucks on a pirated CD!  That could be a lot of time he spends watching prison movies.  Let's hope they have better titles than the movies Campbell bootlegged.

The FBI wasn’t finished with the case when they charged Campbell. They had a bigger target in mind. Two months ago, store owner Osborn Low was indicted on similar charges. Unlike Campbell, Osborn isn’t taking this lying down. He is set for trial on March 15th, 2010.

Who will likely be the star witness against Osborn? Probably Robert Campbell, although only his hairdresser really knows for sure. The chances are, he took the plea along with an agreement for leniency in jail time and an agreement to testify against his father in law. No one has said this and it may not be true. But why else would Campbell take a plea deal in which he admitted to the original charges?  The plea is conveniently timed before Osborn’s trial.

Customers who bought the pirated movies and CD's from the store 'Movies and CD's'
may also be under investigation

The lesson here is don’t copy CD’s and DVD’s. Someone, namely the FBI, takes the copyright notice that appears before each movie seriously. Read about a ring of CD and DVD piraters charged in May of 2009.

The FBI may have released the name and address of the Dallas, Texas Store on Bruton Road that pirated CD's and DVD's for a reason.  Customers who bought the bootlegged movies from the store “Movies and CD’s”, whether from Richard Campbell Jr. or Osborn Lowe, may also be under investigation.   The pictures in this piece are from Google Images.

If you get a call from U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem's office or the FBI you might want to talk to a lawyer.  Aisha Saleem is the government attorney who is prosecuting the case.  But then, someone who buys a movie called "why did I get married" may have bigger problems than a mere FBI investigation.