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1 days and 7 hours ago
Bristol man jailed for possessing £50,000-worth of illegally copied
games, films and music
A Bristol man has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to a total of 23
offences relating to the possessing for sale of illegally copied games, counterfeit films, music
and pornography on recordable discs. He also requested that a further 144 such offences be taken
into consideration and was ordered to pay £12,000 towards prosecution costs.
Gary Boulter, 51, of 15 Knapp Road, Thornbury, appeared before Bristol Crown Court on 26th August
to be sentenced for offences under the Trade Marks Act (1994) and the Video Recordings Act (1984)
as a result of a prosecution brought by South Gloucestershire Trading Standards. In addition to
this, a confiscation order for £10,500 was made under the provisions of the
Proceeds of Crime Act (2002), requiring that the outstanding money be paid within six months or he
would be ordered to serve a further nine months in prison.
Boulter was origionally investigated by South Gloucestershire Trading Standards following a tip-off
alleging that he was involved in running a copying factory from his premises. A warrant was
subsequently executed in December 2005 involving Avon and Somerset Police, Trading Standards, ELSPA
(the Entertainment & Leisure Publishers Association) undercover investigators and
representatives of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which revealed that Boulter had an
entire room set up for the purposes of copying games, film, music and pornography.
Several computers and copying equipment was seized, as well as over 2300 copied discs including
PlayStation®2 and Xbox® games, feature films,
music and pornographic films. In addition, nearly 500 blank DVD-R discs and 173 copied inlays were
removed.
The legitimate market value of the detained games, films and music is estimated to be in excess of
£50,000.
Forensic examination of his computer established that Boulter was copying in response to orders
that were being regularly made with him by friends and contacts. During interview Boulter claimed
that he did the copying as a hobby and gave the discs to friends and family at no cost despite the
fact that it was costing him to do so. However, evidence retrieved from his computer clearly
demonstrated that he was receiving payment for his efforts.
The maximum penalty upon conviction for offences under the Trade Marks Act is an unlimited fine
and/or up to 10 years imprisonment.
In passing sentence, Judge Darwall-Smith commented that Boulter’s operation was a large
commercial venture and that the illegal use of trademarks in the way he did debases the industries
affected.
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