Man admits infringing Boeing unit’s GPS data copyright
2018/07/26
A man from California has pleaded guilty to copyright infringement after he resold updates for a GPS product operated by a Boeing subsidiary on eBay.
Craig Vincent admitted one count of criminal infringement of copyright, according to a release shared by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday, July 23.
Vincent used eBay to resell updates for an aviation navigational database, in violation of a licensing agreement for a product called NavData.
NavData is a satellite-based data product used by aeroplanes in conjunction with the autopilot feature, which provides data for pilots and military aviation organisations worldwide.
Jeppesen updates NavData on a 28-day cycle and sells subscriptions to the data. The data includes information about airports, runways, routes, and terminal procedures, and “general information that a GPS or flight management computer needs to navigate an airplane to final destination.
Following an FBI investigation into his actions, Vincent was charged with the unlawful reproduction and distribution of copyright-protected works at the US District Court for the District of Kansas in November last year.
The indictment said the infringing actions began in January 2014 and continued for a period of 180 days.
Vincent is due to be sentenced on October 15. The US Attorney’s Office said he may be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced to up to five years in prison.
Source: WIPR
