Two brothers in the US have been given lengthy jail terms for selling large amounts of pirated computer software. A federal court in Alexandria, Virginia sentenced Maurice Robberson, 48, to three years in prison and ordered him to pay $855,917 in restitution.

His brother Thomas Robberson, 55, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $151,488 in restitution. Maurice Robberson pleaded guilty to conspiracy and felony copyright infringement, while his brother Thomas Robberson pleaded guilty to a single count of felony copyright infringement.

Thomas Robberson grossed more than $150,000 selling software with a retail value of nearly $1m by operating Bestvalueshoppe.com and TheDealDepot.net.

Maurice Robberson grossed more than $855,000 selling software with a retail value of nearly $5.6m through CDsalesUSA.com and AmericanSoftwareSales.com. Both brothers have agreed to forfeit all proceeds from the illegal businesses.

"People who steal the intellectual property of others for their personal financial gain, while defrauding consumers who think they are buying legitimate products, will be punished for their crimes, as today's sentences prove," said Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher.

The law firm of Girard Gibbs LLP (http://www.girardgibbs.com) announces that it is investigating alleged violations of fiduciary duties by the board of directors of Diebold, Inc. (NYSE:DBD) (“Diebold”) relating to a buyout offer by United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) (“United Technologies”).

It is alleged that Diebold’s directors are violating their fiduciary duties of due care, good faith and loyalty by rejecting without discussion an acquisition offer at a substantial premium by United Technologies, to the detriment of Diebold and its shareholders. Despite the potential to enhance shareholder value beyond that which Diebold can offer as an independent corporation, the board of directors has refused to negotiate with United Technologies.

On March 3, 2008, United Technologies went public with an offer to buy Diebold for $2.63 billion, or $40 a share. This represented a 66% premium to Diebold’s February 29, 2008 share price of $24.12. United Technologies has stated, in a press release, that if the Diebold board begins merger discussions, it is open to raising the offer price. On the same day, Diebold’s board categorically rejected the offer and refused further negotiation.

If you own stock in Diebold and you wish to discuss your rights as an investor, please visit our website, http://www.girardgibbs.com/dbd.html, or contact Jonathan K. Levine, Esq. (jkl@girardgibbs.com) or Aaron M. Sheanin, Esq. (ams@girardgibbs.com) toll free at (866) 981-4800.