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19th February 2008

DVD COUNTERFEITING DUO SENTENCED TO A TOTAL OF FOUR YEARS AND SIX MONTHS FOR RUNNING AN ILLEGAL FACTORY WORTH £5 MILLION A YEAR

Yesterday [18.02.08] a DVD counterfeiting duo have been sentenced to a total of four years and six months for running an illegal factory worth £5 million a year.

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1st February 2008

SEVEN ARRESTS IN MAJOR SWOOP ON COUNTERFEITERS IN GREATER MANCHESTER

Seven men were arrested yesterday by Greater Manchester Police as part of a major operation targeting the manufacture of counterfeit films, music, video games and software and the sale of those counterfeit goods

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1st February 2008

THREE EBAY COUNTERFEITERS ARRESTED IN PORTSMOUTH

Three people were arrested yesterday in a joint operation by officers from Hampshire Constabulary and the Federation Against Copyright Theft targeting the sale of counterfeit DVDs on the auction website eBay.
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14th November 2007

EBAY COUNTERFEITER JAILED

A 38-year old woman from Penrith, Cumbria was given a six month jail sentence at Penrith Magistrates Court today.

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14th November 2007

FACT SUPPORTS NORTHERN IRELAND ANTI-COUNTERFEITING CAMPAIGN

FACT was pleased to support the latest initiative by the Organised Crime Task Force in Northern Ireland at an event attended by Paul Goggins, Policing and Justice Minister and Chair of the Organised Crime Task Force. He stated that “Buying fakes funds real crime and lines the pockets of criminals”.

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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.

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18th October 2007

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

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.

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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.

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5th September 2007

FILM INDUSTRY UNITES TO FIGHT FILM THEFT

The film and video industries today presented a coordinated and united front in the fight against film theft in the UK at an event in London attended by the Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP, Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism.

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16th August 2007

LEWISHAM PIRATE DVD RAID UNCOVERS COUNTERFEIT MONEY AND FAKE DOCUMENTS
A joint operation between Lewisham Council, local police and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) led to a successful raid on residential premises in Deptford on 8th August.

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27th July 2007

FILM AND MUSIC INDUSTRY FIRST AS MARKET OWNERS TAKE RAP FOR PIRACY

The UK's music and film industries today welcomed a key judgment handed down at St Albans Crown Court, which could prove hugely significant as the UK's creative industries step up their fight against copyright crime.

UK record labels' association the BPI and film anti-piracy body FACT say the case against Wendy Fair Markets Ltd is significant as all previous commercial piracy cases have been brought against either the sellers or distributors of the fakes, rather than the market owners themselves.

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19th July 2007

Crackdown Nets 1,218 Fake DVDs in Whitechapel 

A crackdown on illegal DVD sellers in Whitechapel netted 1,218 pirate DVDs including 311 obscene pornographic films.

Eight DVD sellers were arrested in the street raids on Thursday (12 July) and seven pleaded guilty to breaking the Trade Marks Act 1984 and the Video Recordings Act 1984.

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23rd May 2007

THREE JAILED AFTER NORTH-WEST COUNTERFEITING CONSPIRACY

- Ringleaders of music, film and games counterfeiting scam jailed after amassing tens of thousands through sale of fake CDs, DVDs, games and extensive benefit fraud

- First sentencing from Operation Zealot which resulted in 29 arrests in 2006

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Click on names below for photos of:
Barry Powell

Mark Quincey

Sarah Haynes

8th May 2007

£2 MILLION PIRATE DVD SEIZURE IS LARGEST EVER IN UK
OVER 800,000 DISCS SEIZED AND FIVE ARRESTED
FACT investigators were involved in the largest ever single seizure of pirate DVDs in a raid on premises in High Street, Dudley, West Midlands last week where five people were arrested.
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19th April 2007
UK’S FIRST STREET POSTERS WARNING OF PENALTIES FOR FILM PIRACY

Hackney initiative follows high profile arrests and 10 year ASBOs

The Federation Against Copyright Theft today launched a major initiative aimed at reducing the sale of pirate DVDs in Hackney, East London.

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13th March 2007

EBAY COUNTERFEIT TRADER ARRESTED IN EAST LONDON
An eBay trader who was selling large quantities of pirate DVDs and making several thousand pounds per month has been arrested following extensive work by FACT’s Internet Investigations Team.

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7th March 2007

EBAY PARTNERS WITH FACT TO CLAMP DOWN ON PIRATED DVD SALES

eBay.co.uk and The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), have today launched a campaign to educate consumers on how to buy and sell DVDs safely on eBay.
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2nd March 2007

DEPTFORD PIRATE DVD FACTORY RAIDED
A joint operation between Lewisham Trading Standards, Met Police, FACT, IFPI and BPI has led to the successful raid of a residential premises in Deptford and the arrest of eight suspects.
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TEN YEAR ASBOS AND FIVE MONTH SUSPENDED PRISON SENTENCES FOR PIRATE DVD SELLERS

Following the recent operation by Hackney Borough Police and Hackney Council, working with FACT, six defendants have been given 5 month prison sentences, suspended for 2 years, along with 10 year ASBOs.

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7th February 2007

ROCHDALE DVD FACTORY RAIDED

Police in Heywood, Greater Manchester have raided a pirate DVD factory and arrested a 42 year-old man.

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6th February 2007

HACKNEY DVD SELLERS ORDERED FOR DEPORTATION

Two men and four women arrested last Thursday (1st February) in Hackney, East London have been ordered for deportation.
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2nd February 2007

SEVEN PIRATE DVD SELLERS ARRESTED IN HACKNEY IN MULTI-AGENCY OPERATION TARGETING LOCAL CRIME

Two men and five women have been arrested in Hackney, East London by Police working in co-operation with FACT, Hackney Council and the Immigration Service.
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30th January 2007
DURHAM AND NOTTINGHAM RAIDS TARGET ILLEGAL MARKETS

FACT investigators, working with law enforcement, have successfully targeted pirate DVD sellers operating at illegal markets in Durham and Nottingham.
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4th January 2007

MAJOR PIRATE FACTORY IN SOUTH-EAST LONDON RAIDED

Four men have been arrested in Thamesmead, south east London, following the discovery of a ‘factory’ making counterfeit DVDs worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
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15th December 2006

£60,000 CONFISCATION ORDER AGAINST FILM PIRATE

Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) Financial Investigators, working in partnership with Essex County Council Trading Standards, Cambridge County Council Trading Standards, Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and have secured a Confiscation Order worth £60,681 against Peter William Axford of Kilmartin Road, Ilford, Essex, who is a convicted counterfeiter.
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11th December 2006

SIX JAILED FOR INTERNET FILM PIRACY CONSPIRACY IN FIRST CASE OF ITS KIND IN THE UK

A major internet piracy conspiracy has been broken up and six men sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from four years to six months on Friday (8th December) at Birmingham Crown Court for offences relating to the manufacture, distribution and sale of pirate DVDs.
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6th December 2006

FACT WELCOMES TIGHTENING OF LAWS ON FILM PIRACY

The Federation Against Copyright Theft (‘FACT’) is pleased with the announcement by The Chancellor, Gordon Brown, in his Pre Budget Report, following the recommendations of Andrew Gowers, that stronger enforcement is needed to tackle the problem of film piracy.

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4th December 2006

EBAY FILM PIRATE HAS RECORD £55,000 ASSETS SEIZURE

- LORD OF THE RINGS WAS TOP SELLING ITEM -

A prolific seller of pirate DVDs on eBay has been ordered to pay £55,000 under Proceeds Of Crime legislation following a judgement on Friday (1st December) at Bradford Crown Court.

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14th November 2006

CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER RECEIVES 15 MONTH JAIL SENTENCE FOR FILM PIRACY OFFENCES

Gary Fenn, age 35, from Ilford, Essex was sentenced yesterday to 15 months imprisonment at Snaresbrook Crown Court for Conspiracy to Defraud the film industry and another 15 months for Conspiracy to Defraud the music industry – both sentences to run concurrently.

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7th November 2006

FOUR YEAR SENTENCE FOR DVD PIRATE
- ONE OF STRONGEST SENTENCES YET IN UK-

In one of the strongest ever sentences for film piracy in the UK, Zhong Li, age 35, and a Chinese national, was sentenced to four years imprisonment last week at Southwark Crown Court. He was recommended for deportation at the end of his sentence.

Li, who had no previous convictions, was found guilty of the following, all sentences to run concurrently:
1. Section 10 (1) and (3) of the video recordings act 1984 - 12 months
2. Section 107 (1) (C) of the copyright, designs and patents act 1988 - four years
3. Section 92 (2)(B) and (6) of the Trade Marks Act - 12 months
4. Section 2 obscene publications act - four years.

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17th October 2006

NINE ARRESTED IN NORTHERN IRELAND MARKET RAID

Nine people were arrested after police smashed a counterfeiting racket at a street market in Greysteel, Co Derry, on Sunday morning.

Fake DVDs, CDs, cigarettes and cash were all seized during planned searches by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (‘FACT’), assisted by FACT and other anti-piracy bodies. A number of vehicles were also taken in the raid, carried out by police from Limavady and organised crime unit officers.

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16th October 2006

MULTI AGENCY SWOOP ON COUNTERFEIT FRAUDSTERS

Ten people were arrested in the early hours of yesterday morning following raids at addresses across North Wales, Cheshire and the Wirral. The arrests followed an operation to uncover rip-off merchants who claim benefits whilst making a living selling pirate DVDs to bargain hunters on Greenfield Market in Flintshire.
A multi-agency taskforce led by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) investigated allegations of benefit fraud and other illegal activity in a joint operation codenamed ‘Buzzard’.

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12th October 2006

FILM MINISTER LAUNCHES UK FILM INDUSTRY FILM THEFT PREVENTION TOOLKIT

Photo: Brian Robertson, FACT Chairman, presents Shaun Woodward with the toolkit

Film Minister Shaun Woodward today launched a major initiative in the fight against film theft at an event hosted by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (‘FACT’) and the Film Distributors’ Association (‘FDA’) in London.

The initiative (‘the toolkit’) combines two key elements to assist those working in the theatrical and distribution sectors and is specifically aimed at protecting film prints and preventing camcording.
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5th October 2006

FACT APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR GENERAL

The Federation Against Copyright Theft (‘FACT’) is delighted to announce the appointment of Kieron Sharp as its new Director General. Kieron takes up his post on 6th November 2006.

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3rd October 2006

Film pirate caught on film

A Glasgow man who was caught twice by Trading Standards with illegal DVDs at Ayr Sunday Market pled guilty to charges at Ayr sheriff Court last week and was sentenced to 2 years and 10 months imprisonment.

Photo: Donald Daisley at his hidden vehicle with one of the teenage ‘runners.’

3rd October 2006

KENT MAN ARRESTED FOR DVD PIRACY

CARAVAN PARK WAS BASE FOR MANUFACTURING

A partnership effort has led to the arrest of a man on suspicion of producing counterfeit DVD’s.

Working with FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) the Kent Police Island Neighbourhood Team executed a warrant at a caravan park in Plough Lane, Minster on Friday (29 September). The officers seized 14 DVD burners, a colour printer along with 20 boxes of DVD cases, blank DVDs and a large quantity of DVDs ready for sale.

It is thought that equipment and materials seized are capable of being used to produce over 1,000 illegal DVDs a day.

A 34-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of producing counterfeit DVD’s and  he has been bailed to Sittingbourne police station pending further enquiries.

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2nd October 2006

Brent & Harrow Trading Standards Service working in partnership with the Metropolitan Police and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) swooped again on the illegal DVD street traders who plague the public along St Anns Road, Harrow on Monday 2nd October 2006.

Up to twenty traders were observed selling illegal counterfeit and pornographic DVDs on Monday afternoon by Harrow Council’s CCTV operators and undercover Trading Standards and Police Officers.

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5th September 2006

• ESSEX DVD PIRATE JAILED
• TWO AND A HALF YEAR SENTENCE FOR PRODUCING AND SELLING COUNTERFEIT DVDS
  

Peter Axford, age 47, was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court to two years and six months imprisonment for offences relating to the manufacture, distribution and sale of pirate DVDs over a four year period. The case was prosecuted by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (“FACT”).

Operating from premises in Chadwell Heath, Essex, Axford was manufacturing tens of thousands of counterfeit DVDs from a rented flat and was then supplying them to stallholders at car boot fairs in Cambridgeshire and Essex. He was also selling the pirate DVDs himself at car boot fairs.

Over 15,000 pirate discs were seized during the raid, along with 90 DVD burners and 4 colour printers used to produce the DVDs and the artwork for the sleeves.

• ONLINE PIRATE DVD SELLER RAIDED IN LONDON
• EQUIPMENT AND THOUSANDS OF COUNTERFEIT FILMS SEIZED
  

A prolific pirate DVD seller in Hackney, operating online, had her house raided by officers from Hackney Trading Standards and FACT following work done by FACT's Internet Investigation Team over a number of months. The woman, aged 55, will be summonsed to appear in court at a later date.

When officers entered the house they found over 3,500 pirate DVDs waiting to be sent out to her customers across the UK, with titles including current 'Cars', 'Lady In The Water' and 'The Break Up', at prices of up to £5 a disc. Equipment seized included 13 DVD burners in tower units, a thousand blank DVDs, two colour printers and a PC, as well as replacement DVD burners.

MULTI AGENCY OPERATION TARGETS PROLIFIC DVD SELLERS IN LEYTON

11 pirate DVD sellers were arrested on Saturday 22nd July 2006 in a joint operation by FACT, Metropolitan Police, Waltham Forest Trading Standards and the Immigration Service in a major swoop on Leyton Mills Retail Park in North East London. 

Leyton Mills has had a significant problem with Chinese pirate DVD sellers who harass customers and affect the trade of genuine retailers on the site. A large number of complaints to FACT from members of the public led to the operation, which was instigated by FACT and involved a team of over 20 people comprising FACT investigators and Police, Immigration and Trading Standards officers.

FACT TACKLES CAMCORDING WITH NEW INVESTIGATOR FOR CINEMAS

SOUTH WALES FILM PIRATES TARGETED:

THREE ARRESTED.  £500k OF GOODS AND DRUGS SEIZED.

South Wales Police, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil Trading Standards, The Federation Again Copyright Theft (FACT), British Phonographic Institute (BPI) and European Leisure Software Publishers Association(ELSPA) last week joined forces in a series of raids targeting film pirates in the South Wales area.

TEN ARRESTS BY FILM PIRACY UNIT WORKING WITH FACT
PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE AGAINST THE TOP TIER OF A SUCCESSFUL CRIMINAL NETWORK

At approx 11.30 this morning (13.06.06) police officers from the Film Piracy Unit and Territorial Support Group at the Met police have arrested ten people believed to be involved in a large criminal network dealing in film piracy.

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BRIAN ROBERTSON APPOINTED FACT CHAIRMAN

The Federation Again Copyright Theft (FACT) is pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Robertson as FACT Chairman with immediate effect. Brian was elected by a unanimous vote, in accordance with the Articles of Association, at the FACT Board Meeting held on the 24th May 2006.

Yesterday at Bradford Crown Court a prolific DVD pirate was jailed for 6 months. Peter Spencer, 39, of Oakhall Park, Bradford had been trading on eBay since 2002 selling counterfeit DVDs and making over £39,000 in less than two years from his illegal activities. In just one day in January 2004 Spencer had over 950 pirate DVDs listed for sale on eBay.

PIRATE DVD FACTORY RAIDED - STREET VALUE OF OVER £1M A WEEK
THIRD MAJOR LONDON OPERATION DISMANTLED SINCE FEBRUARY

Llocal officers from Walthamstow borough discovered a large counterfeit DVD and cannabis factory at premises in East Walthamstow, E17.

The Met officers were on patrol in the area, which is known for stolen and abandoned vehicles being dumped at the location when, on further investigation they discovered a huge DVD factory with approx 40 DVD towers, each with 9 DVD burners, 8 DVD label printers and 2 industrial sized machines, which appear to have recently been delivered. The factory would be capable of producing over 300,000 DVDs a week with a street value of over £1m.

Officers also discovered a cannabis factory attached to the unit - containing approx 115 cannabis plants.

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TWO JAILED AFTER POLICE RAID ONE OF UK'S BIGGEST PIRATE DVD FACTORIES

ESTIMATED STREET VALUE OF £1.2M PER MONTH WAS BEING MADE FROM THE FACTORY

Two men have been jailed for a total of three years after admitting their part in the running of one of the biggest ever pirate DVD factories in the UK, capable of producing thousands of counterfeited films each day.

DVD PIRATE ARRESTED IN KENT - OFFENSIVE MATERIALS ON DISCS 

A man has been arrested and counterfeit DVDs seized after police received a radio tip off and assistance from CCTV operatives.

A man was arrested on suspicion of possessing counterfeit DVDs and illegal entry. Of the 307 items seized 74 were of an offensive nature.

WORLD FIRST AS DOGS TRAINED TO DETECT DVDS
PARTNERSHIP WITH FEDEX AND HM REVENUE & CUSTOMS TO STOP PIRATE DVD IMPORTS

FACT has joined forces with express delivery company FedEx and HM Revenue & Customs to launch an exciting new initiative to help combat DVD piracy.