The BPI and the movie industry's anti-piracy body FACT have hailed a verdict at St Albans Crown Court as significant in their fight against the sale of pirated CDs and DVDs because the ruling went against the owners of a market where the pirated goods were sold, rather than just the actual stall holder selling the goods. The successful case against Wendy Fair Markets Ltd potentially sets a valuable precedent for anti-piracy types because it means that market owners taking rents from stall holders who they know or suspect to be selling illegal goods can be prosecuted for profiting, albeit indirectly, from the illegal trading. The case against Wendy Fair and their directors followed an investigation by Hertfordshire Trading Standards into claims by the BPI and FACT that the company knowingly rented out stalls to the sellers of counterfeit DVDs, CDs and computer software at their Bovingdon Market in Hemel Hempstead.
Commenting on the case, BPI Anti-piracy Manager David Wood said: "Most markets and car boot sales operate a strict no-fakes policy, but a significant number of owners still turn a blind eye to rampant counterfeiting and piracy, whilst raking in the profits. It is plainly wrong that rogue market and car boot sale owners are able generate huge profits from criminal trade that takes place blatantly and openly under their noses. This ruling, we hope, will send a clear message to these market owners that they need to clean up their act or face prosecution".
The Wendy Fair people will be sentenced in September.