4 December 2013Copyright

UK man jailed for copyright offences

A man has been jailed for 18 months for masterminding a copyright infringement operation, described as one of the largest "domestic factories" uncovered in the UK.

Keith Tamkin was sentenced to 12 months for his unauthorised distribution of copyrighted material and a further eight months for other offences such as money laundering.

Tamkin, 52, admitted being responsible for a large haul of copyrighted equipment, which included computer hard drives and CDs. He had made more than £100,000 from his illegal sales.

The sentence, on December 3, followed raids carried out by police and investigators at the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) at two addresses in the town of Felpham, Sussex.

At one of the addresses, more than 100 computer hard drives and an estimated 150,000 CDs and DVDs were seized. Towers that help to burn CDs and DVDs were also found with a catalogue of around 25,000 titles, which were distributed to a list of clients.

The material took more than a year to examine, following raids in November 2011.

Tamkin was sentenced at Chichester Crown Court after pleading guilty to six offences.

David Wood, director of anti-piracy for the BPI, said the operation was one of the “largest 'domestic factories' uncovered to date in the UK.”

“It had the capability of manufacturing and distributing counterfeit products on a truly commercial scale," Wood added.

Detective Inspector Chris Neilson, of the Sussex Police Economic Crime Unit, which led the investigation, said it worked closely with the BPI throughout the case.

"IP crime and associated offences of money laundering will be pursued by Sussex Police in a co-ordinated way with partners involved in tackling IP crime, including the UK Intellectual Property Office,” Nielson added.

Adam Rendle, associate at Taylor Wessing LLP in London, said the application of the money laundering offences was noteworthy, as it enabled police to “confiscate the proceeds of crime – hitting the convicted criminal in the pocket, as well as losing his liberty”.

Rendle added that similar prosecutions may fall within the remit of the UK’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit.

The unit is a specialist police force focusing on IP crime. It was launched in September this year.

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