The BPI has welcomed two success stories in the ongoing battle against counterfeit CD piracy in the UK. First up, there was the guilty verdicts which were last week handed to three people accused of running a prolific counterfeit CD operation in North East England. The trade body launched a rare private prosecution against James Cowan, his wife Ann Cowan and Andrew Wood, all from County Durham, after a routine anti-piracy operation unveiled a sophisticated bootleg CD enterprise.
The three defendants made pirate of copies of CDs and DVDs at a property above a video rental store, and are thought to have made £10,000s a week by selling the pirated material at markets, pubs and industrial units all over the North East. Following the BPI's action James Cowan was last week found guilty on counts of conspiracy to defraud the music and film industries, tax evasion and benefit fraud. Ann Cowan was found guilty of defrauding the music and film industries, benefit fraud and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Wood, who was allegedly in charge of the pirating operation, had earlier pleaded guilty to counts of conspiracy to defraud the music and film industries and tax evasion. All three will be sentenced in the New Year.
Welcoming the guilty verdicts, BPI General Counsel Roz Groome told CMU on Friday: "These verdicts provide further evidence that intellectual property crime is often linked with other areas of crime, in this case benefit fraud and tax evasion. We have urged the government to place intellectual property crime higher on the agenda and provide Trading Standards with the power, duty and resource to tackle this rapidly growing area of crime".
Meanwhile, some 200,000 Bollywood CDs and DVDs have been seized following a raid in West London last week. With a value of just under £1 million, even at bootleg prices, this is the biggest ever haul of pirated Bollywood content in the UK. The pirated CDs were found alongside a load of counterfeit clothing which, police reckon, could take the value of all the goods seized to over £5 million. On this one, Groome told CMU: "We understand that this is the biggest seizure of Bollywood counterfeits ever seen in the UK. Our members will be pleased to hear that this operation has disrupted what we believe to be a hugely significant piracy operation extending throughout west London and beyond. With intellectual property crime often linked to other areas of crime and benefit fraud, we also urge consumers not to support counterfeiters by buying their goods."