James Delahunty
1 Sep 2007 5:21
Last week, Victorian police raided the home of a 30 year old man in South East Melbourne and seized 2,000 pirated DVD discs and computer equipment allegedly used to manufacture illegal discs. The man was operating several websites based in the United States and Germany, selling music videos, movies and games to customers in Australia and overseas, claiming they were "original".
Among the movies seized were Transformers and Die Hard 4.0, which have not been released on DVD (or any other release outside theaters) yet, and the music seized included U2 and AC/DC. The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) and Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) (and arm of the ARIA) ran the investigation that led to the raid.
"With the assistance of the Victorian Police, copyright owners have shut down this illegal website and intend to bring the operator before the courts," said Sabiene Heindl, General Manager of MIPI. "Internet-based music piracy is a crime that can be detected and has consequences. Illegal operators can’t hide just because they are using the internet as their marketplace."
Copyright infringement charges for selling infringing materials have been laid and the man will face court over the coming month. Penalties for copyright infringement are up to $60,500 and 5 years imprisonment per offense. "This raid again highlights the benefits of close cooperation between industries, as well as the commitment of the police in pursuing those who trade in illegal products on the internet," said Adrianne Pecotic, Executive Director of AFACT.
Source:
Press Release