• IP BLAWG

    Bootleg CDs Have a Lot of Kick

    Beverly A. Berneman
    10/25/16

    Criminal copyright infringement can get you kicked out the U.S. %CUT% Raul Zaragoza-Vaquero has been in the U.S. for less than 5 years. Raul sold bootleg CDs. Raul’s business model got him convicted of criminal copyright infringement. But his troubles didn’t end there. The Immigration and Nationality Act allows the deportation of someone who engages in crimes involving moral turpitude. So immigration authorities started proceedings to deport Raul. Raul appealed to the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals to allow him to stay in the U.S. He lost. Although there was little precedent for it to rely on, the Board ruled that copyright infringement is a crime involving moral turpitude. The Board relied heavily on precedent in criminal trademark infringement cases and other theft type cases. The Board also looked to the legislative intent that copyright infringement enforcement was an important priority.

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