UK man ordered to repay copyright profits

A UK man who admitted masterminding a copyright infringement operation, described as one of the biggest in the country, has been ordered to surrender part of his criminal profits.

Keith Tamkin, of Sussex, was sentenced on Tuesday, December 3, to 18 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to six offences.

The 52-year-old admitted distributing copyrighted equipment, including computer hard drives and CDs. He had made more than £100,000 from his sales.

The sentence followed raids carried out by police and investigators at the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) at two addresses in the town of Felpham in November, last year.

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 make copies of CDs and DVDs were also found with a catalogue of around 25,000 titles, which were distributed to a list of clients.

At a Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation hearing at Chichester Crown Court on February 17, Tamkin was ordered to pay back £2,270.

David Wood, director of anti-piracy for the BPI, said the case was “significant”, adding that Tamkin had one of the largest ‘domestic factories’ uncovered to date in the UK.

"It had the capability of manufacturing and distributing counterfeit product on a truly commercial scale,” said Wood.

The money will go to the central exchequer but 50 percent of it then comes back to help with law enforcement.