James Delahunty
25 Aug 2007 17:59
The Australian Record Industry Association's (ARIA) Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) assisted the Victorian Police in the raid of the home of a prolific trader of Croatian pirate music in Cheltenham, Melbourne last week. The Police seized approximately 5,000 burnt Croatian CDs and extensive computer burning equipment. The pirate trader first came to MIPI's attention when selling burnt Croatian music in church grounds at Keysborough, Clifton Hill and Ardeer in Melbourne to unsuspecting consumers.
The MIPI investigators were led to the home of a female trader from where it is understood that large quantities of pirate CDs were being manufactured and distributed for sale. The CDs feature recordings of popular Croatian artists including Thompson, Matko Jelavic and Zlatko Pejakovic. It is expected that criminal charges will be laid against the pirate trader shortly. Penalties for copyright infringement are up to $60,500 and 5 years imprisonment per offense. The criminal case against this pirate trader is expected to be heard in Court over the next couple of months.
"The music industry is committed to protecting the copyright of artists and songwriters whether they are based in Australia or overseas. Traders who deliberately burn music and sell it to unsuspecting customers are not only deceiving consumers but they are taking food off the table of artists and songwriters that devote their life to creating music," Sabiene Heindl, General Manager of MIPI said.
Source:
Press Release