A 38-year old woman from Penrith was given an 6-month jail sentence at Penrith Magistrates Court today.
Helen Louise Sharkey, of Chestnut Close, Penrith had earlier pleaded guilty to 18 charges of breaching trade mark and copyright law, in a case brought by Cumbria Trading Standards.
The court heard that Sharkey was copying films and selling them to order over the internet. The matter came to light when FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft ) became aware of Sharkey's activities and purchased 8 DVD films over the Internet in May 2006.
When they received the copied films, FACT reported their findings to Cumbria Trading Standards who, accompanied by officers from Cumbria police, executed a warrant on Sharkey's house. Here, they found two copying towers for making counterfeit discs, 600 'master' film discs, over 33,000 MP3 music files and over 5,000 CD and DVD cover artworks.
Phil Ashcroft, Head of Cumbria Trading Standards , said: " I hope that the sentence imposed today will act as a deterrent to others who are tempted to think that copying film or music discs is a quick and easy way to make money.
"The penalties available to the court are substantial and custodial sentences are increasingly imposed by the courts in the battle against counterfeiters."
Kieron Sharp, FACT Director General, added: "The court has clearly shown that strong penalties can be imposed on those seeking to steal films and TV programmes and use them make substantial criminal profits.
"There is no doubt that this person was running a criminal business and I would like to thank Cumbria Trading Standards and Cumbria Police for their diligence in bringing this case to justice."
ENDS
Media enquiries to Mark Graham, Media Officer on 01228-606337
Notes
1.The charges were brought under section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 and section 107 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.
2. The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) is the UK's leading trade organisation established to protect and represent the interests of the film and broadcasting industry against copyright and trademark infringements. Established in 1983, FACT works closely with statutory law enforcement agencies to combat the growth of pirate DVDs, film and other forms of broadcast material including the increasing threat from online/internet-based piracy. FACT has been accepted as a prosecution authority and engages in criminal prosecutions in its own right. The maximum penalty for offences of audio-visual piracy is 10 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Proceeds of Crime Act legislation now also enables confiscation of assets and goods obtained through criminal activity. The UK audio-visual sector lost £459m in 2006 due to piracy.