Los Angeles – Federal prosecutors have dropped charges
against a man accused of illegally modifying Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) Xbox 360 video game
consoles so they could play pirated games, Wired.com reported.
The case against
28-year-old Californian Matthew Crippen was to be the first jury trial testing
how the Digital Millennium Copyright Act applies to video game consoles.
However, prosecutors fumbled in turning over key new evidence to Crippen’s defense
attorneys — evidence crucial to obtaining a guilty verdict — prompting federal
prosecutor Allen Chiu to move for the case to be dismissed "based on
fairness and justice," Wired reported.
Crippen faced two copyright
infringement charges that each carried a maximum sentence of five years in
prison.
Related Links:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/12/crippen-dismissed
