Court Case a Warning to Pirates

[Raptor]

From next-gen.biz:

In August 2006, the 40 year old was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment at Bristol Crown Court for his involvement in the largest counterfeiting case that South Gloucestershire Trading Standards had ever prosecuted. Hunter, who ran an illegal copying operation from home, had pleaded guilty to a total of 17 offences relating to the selling, possession and production of illegally copied computer and video games.

Mr Hunter's home address was then raided by South Gloucestershire Trading Standards, ELSPA (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) representatives and officers from Avon and Somerset Police. They found computer hardware capable of creating pirated discs on a commercial scale, packaging equipment, and copied games and business software products with a retail value exceeding £58,000.

The subsequent investigation revealed that Hunter had established an operation that could produce up to 16 pirated games at a time, and it was deemed that his lifestyle had been wholly subsidized by his illegal activities which were estimated to have earned him approximately £74,500.

Hunter was ordered to sell his house to satisfy the confiscation order of £46,000, which must be paid off in three months. If Hunter were to default the order he would be sentenced to a further 16 months imprisonment with the money still to be paid.

Full Story: next-gen.biz

[1 REP MAX]

I better let captain hook know then

[runner05]

Fuck the police

having said that he was a hardcore pirate i doubt a few 360 games and a single pioneer burner that most of us posess would hold much weight in court

[Nibb]

Its purely for personal use officer!

[GTI]

I don't have much sympathy for people who profit from piracy. What he has to offer is only worth the plastic its burnt on, anything he charges above that is criminal. I may own a bit of it myself but I share it with my friends for free because its not mine to sell.

[Nibb]

Exactly m8!

Share the wealth I say!

[Freddy]

He's doing some time. Good.

[pizza-man]

even if sharing with freinds is wrong (in the eyes of the law that is ) not in my eyes LOL

[OrangeJuicey]

Happens all the time this sort of stuff, I used to go to a computer fair called bowlers and you'd always have the same people sitting outside on the road selling pirate software for stupid prices, 3 cd's for a tenner lol, thats 7 Quid profit. Even when the police did come down they would just all leg it, was quite funny to watch and if they dropped anything it was free .

[Undertaker]

Is bowlers still active?

[wonka]

yes as far as i no dunno if they still selling outside like

[/dev/null]

They used to sell outside many years ago but I think it's stopped now. You can still get things under the counter as such inside now (well, at least last time I went, about 2 years ago) but nothing on the scale of what it used to be!

I'm sure many of us have a nice collection of the "Gold Utilities" cd's etc, haha!

[Booyakasha]

Happens all the time this sort of stuff, I used to go to a computer fair called bowlers and you'd always have the same people sitting outside on the road selling pirate software for stupid prices, 3 cd's for a tenner lol, thats 7 Quid profit. Even when the police did come down they would just all leg it, was quite funny to watch and if they dropped anything it was free .

Ahh the memories quite a few I used to know sold outside bowlers, I recall
at one point sellers having to stand behind a 8ft wire fence with a little cut out hole,
all transactions of cash in exchange for discs was passed through the tiny little cut out in the fence lol

There was also communication amongst traders via walkie talkies lol soon as one trader spotted a copper he would blow through the message to others and they would all run for the hills literally.

As much as I loved the shannanigans, I never quite understood how people could put their neck on the line like that for a few quid, the atmosphere was always tense.

It may seem on the surface they were making good money but there was more to it than met the eye, I know many would take home peanuts for sitting outside from 7am til 3pm after the local security had taken a cut