Un cuplu a fost condamnat la închisoare pentru pirateria de software şi jocuri

ELSPA (The Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association), un soi de organizaţie aspirantă la faima RIAA/ ORDA, a anunţat că un cuplu care distribuia software piratat a fost condamnat la 7 luni de închisoare.Astfel,
Graeme şi Sharon Shead, de 39 şi respectiv 43 de ani (da, ea este mai
bătrână decât el), din Durham, UK, au fost urmăriţi şi filmaţi
distribuind software şi jocuri piratate. Pedeapsa maximă pentru acest
gen de acţiuni este 10 ani de închisoare şi o amendă nelimitată, deci
s-ar putea spune că cei doi au ieşit chiar bine.



Husband And Wife Jailed For Seven Months for Counterfeiting Offences
Criminal couple found guilty for running an illegal DVD and CD copying operation
Friday
16th January/... A husband and wife team have been sentenced to seven
months in prison having been found guilty of running an illegal DVD and
CD copying operation in Durham. In the first successful prosecution of
for such offences, the couple denied selling counterfeit goods on
August 21, 2007, but were found guilty at the end of the trial. Graeme
Shead, 39 and his 43-year-old wife, Sharon Shead, of Seventh Street,
Horden, Durham, appeared before Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday
January 13 to be sentenced for offences under the Trade Marks Act
(1994) and the Video Recordings Act (1985) as a result of a prosecution
brought by Durham Trading Standards.Following
undercover surveillance at local markets in the Durham area, conducted
by officers from Durham Trading Standards Department as well as
investigators from ELSPA (the Entertainment & Leisure Publishers
Association), video footage evidence was recorded of the couple selling
counterfeit goods at local markets.On August 21 2007, a
search warrant was obtained and a raid subsequently executed by Trading
Standards, ELSPA officers and local Police at the premises of Graeme
and Sharon Shead, which they shared with two children. During the raid,
approximately 130 counterfeit computer games were seized along with
additional pirated DVDs, CDs and computer equipment – including a
copying tower.The maximum penalty upon conviction for
offences under the Trade Marks Act is an unlimited fine and/or up to 10
years imprisonment.Graeme and Sharon Shead were charged
with possession of counterfeit discs in the control of a business on
August 23, 2007. At the end of the trial, Graeme Shead was jailed for
12 weeks and his wife Sharon for 16 weeks.Michael
Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA, said: “I would like to thank
Durham Trading Standards and local Police for successfully shutting
down this criminal operation. ELSPA would like to thank the efforts of
everyone concerned in their attempts to protect legitimate local
traders and remove illegal products from the marketplace. In
our team in the Intellectual Property Crime Unit (IPCU) is stepping up
its fight against counterfeiters stealing game software and other
intellectual property rights of our members. Increasingly sophisticated
tracking techniques are making it harder than ever for these thieves to
avoid detection.”