An individual was ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid work, and given a 24 month suspended jail sentence for selling devices that provided access to paid-for content including sport and films via his Facebook page. An investigation led by FACT, the UK-based organization focused on protecting intellectual property, led to the conviction.
FACT CEO Kieron Sharp called this “a warning to anyone engaged in selling subscriptions or devices that allow access to content without remunerating the legitimate provider – it’s not a grey area and you risk a criminal conviction.”
Read the full press release at FACT
Why it matters
While a suspended jail sentence seems to be light punishment for a confirmed and convicted pirate, the offender was an individual and not an industrial-scale operation.
Another pirate investigated by FACT and convicted just a week earlier, was given a 12-month jail sentence (not suspended), but the scale of that crime was much greater.
FACT collaborates with Crimestoppers International, which runs a Web site and telephone hotline for reporting content or services that appear not to be legitimate.
