Latest News / Archive - October 2007

16th October 2007

VIDEO SHOP OWNER JAILED FOR FILM PIRACY OFFENCES

A husband and wife who owned a video store in Knowsley, Merseyside have been sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court for offences relating to the manufacture, distribution and sale of counterfeit DVDs, music CDs and video games, following a prosecution by FACT.

Ian Jameson, age 35, of Knowsley had pleaded guilty to 14 offences under Trade Marks and Copyright Design and Patents Acts and was sentenced to 14 x two years imprisonment to run concurrently.

His wife, Amanda Jameson, age 35, was sentenced to two x 10 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and 150 hours community punishment order, having pleaded guilty to two offences.

The offences took place between 2003 and 2005 and involved the pair copying DVDs and CDs in their home and selling the pirate material in their retail premises, Rockys Videos, Manchester Road in Knowsley.

16th October 2007

TWO ARRESTED IN ISLE OF WIGHT INTERNET PROBE

Two males aged 16 and 21 from Newport, IOW have been arrested in connection with an investigation into a website selling pirate films and music. The arrests were made on 11th October 2007 by Newport Safer Neighbourhoods Team from Hampshire Police working with the Federation Against Copyright Theft (‘FACT’).

The men have been bailed until 6th February 2008 for further enquiries

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18th October 2007

FACT PARTNERS WITH CRIMESTOPPERS TO MAKE IT EASIER TO REPORT FILM PIRACY

The Federation Against Copyright Theft (‘FACT’) and the charity Crimestoppers are pleased to announce a partnership that makes Crimestoppers the anonymous primary reporting resource for film piracy in the UK. This allows members of the public to report easily and anonymously 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

FACT had previously been using a lo-call number which has been successful in generating intelligence on those involved in the manufacture, distribution and sale of pirate DVDs but the new partnership with Crimestoppers makes it easier and quicker to report such crimes.

Kieron Sharp, FACT Director General, said: “The association with Crimestoppers reinforces the message that film piracy is a serious and organised crime, generating nearly £200m a year for criminals and threatening the jobs of those working in the UK film industry at all levels, as well as those in the retail, rental and cinema sectors.

The increased threat from internet piracy is also of great concern as this is often the initial means of distributing the stolen films. We are also working with the cinema industry to reduce the risk of films being camcorded in UK cinemas.

FACT has increased its investigative resources in all areas in the past year and we are delighted to be able to link up with such a respected charity as Crimestoppers which will provide us with high quality intelligence on those seeking to profit from the theft of films in any format.”

Dave Cording, Crimestoppers’ Director of Operations, added: "Film piracy in the UK is a growing problem, with far reaching impacts on the wider community that the public may not be aware of. Piracy not only costs the film industry millions each year, but the serious organised nature of the crime is why Crimestoppers and FACT are working in partnership to bring to justice those responsible.

Money from sales of pirated materials can be connected to funding much more serious criminal activities, such as people smuggling and drug dealing, which is not obvious when buying a copied DVD in the street or in a local pub.

Anyone with information can help expose those behind film piracy and stop criminals funding other crimes, by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Your call cannot be traced and we will not ask your name."

In support of the new partnership, the Industry Trust for IP Awareness is launching a large-scale online awareness campaign to educate web users about the new way to report copyright theft. The campaign uses online advertising techniques to urge web users to keep an eye out for those selling illegal content, and signposts the new Crimestoppers service. This call for vigilance and action is reinforced by the advertising creatives. These create user engagement with a pair of animated eyes which can follow around the direction of a mouse pointer wherever it is positioned on the banners.

Paul Archer, Acting Director-General of the Industry Trust, said: “Copyright theft is no longer just about dodgy DVD dealers at car boot sales. The challenge is much wider than that and as an industry we need to adapt our tactics accordingly. With the internet now a major source of illegal content, it’s an important channel for the Crimestoppers message. Our online advertising campaign reminds web users that copyright theft in any guise is a crime and urges them to report it, whether they see it at their local car boot sale or in the pub, or spot illegal content being sold online.”

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22nd October 2007

TV LINKS WEBSITE OWNER ARRESTED FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

A man aged 26 from Cheltenham was arrested on Thursday (18th October) in connection with offences relating to the facilitation of copyright infringement on the Internet. The arrest came during an operation by officers from Gloucestershire County Council Trading Standards Service working with investigators from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (‘FACT’) and Gloucestershire Police. The man has been released pending further enquiries.

The site, TV Links (www.tv-links.co.uk), was providing links to illegal film content that has been camcorded from within a cinema and then uploaded to the Internet. The site additionally provided links to TV shows that were also being illegally distributed.

Sites such as TV Links contribute to and profit from copyright infringement by identifying, posting, organising, and indexing links to infringing content found on the Internet that users can then view on demand by visiting these illegal sites.

Kieron Sharp, FACT Director General, said: “We at FACT have stated very clearly that we intended to pursue those who are openly exploiting and facilitating the distribution of illegal film and TV content and this was the first major target.

The theft and distribution of films harms the livelihoods of those working in the UK film industry and in ancillary industries, as well as damaging the economy.

In addition, those visiting sites hosting illegal content run the risk of downloading Trojans or viruses that can infect their computers.”

Roger Marles, Head of Trading Standards, said: "This practice allows people to view any one of a large number of films and television programmes directly via the website. This is illegal under UK copyright law. The 'users' are potentially evading licence fees, subscription fees to digital services or the cost of purchase or admittance to cinemas to view the films.

No physical product changes hands but the effect is the same - anyone has the opportunity to view an illegal copy of a copyrighted work. This is all done without the permission of the owners of the copyright or trade mark protection in the works being distributed.

As no control is exerted over who can visit the site and access the service, there is no regard for the age of the viewer and therefore no control of the content of what is viewed."

The operation was conducted with the assistance of BREIN, the Dutch anti-piracy body, who have served notice on the TV Links hosting provider, Leaseweb, to allow the website servers to be removed. Leaseweb is based in the Netherlands

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