Film pirate walks free from court (From Salisbury Journal)
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Film pirate walks free from court
4:56pm Thursday 17th November 2011 in News By Journal Reporter
A FOVANT man who committed a string of film piracy offences walked free from court with a two-year conditional discharge.
Mathew Alexander Lisett, 32, of The Elms, Fovant, pleaded guilty to eight charges relating to copyright infringement and was sentenced at Salisbury Magistrates Court yesterday.
The court heard that in 2010 he concealed camera equipment under his clothing to illegally record four films – Resident Evil 3D, Piranha 3D, Devil and Going the Distance – at Salisbury’s Odeon cinema during their preview screenings and then sold some of the illegal copies to someone online for a total of £1,798.
He also admitted obtaining illegal copies of another three films and uploading them to the internet before their UK release dates and owning modified camera equipment.
He was arrested following a joint operation between the Wiltshire Police fraud team and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT).
FACT director general Kieron Sharp said: “This conviction was the result of a painstaking investigation by FACT and Wiltshire Police, along with Odeon, that identified the source of pirated copies of films that had been recorded by Lisett and uploaded to the internet for downloading, sharing and streaming by millions of people globally.
“The fact that he was also receiving payment for those recordings is further proof that piracy at this level is an organised criminal activity, with profit as a motive.
“I would like to commend Wiltshire Police and Odeon for their work in bringing this case to court and hope it will serve as a warning to others thinking of attempting to record films in UK cinemas. This is the fifth conviction in the UK for this type of criminal activity.”
Anyone with information on film piracy can contact Wiltshire Police on 101, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit the FACT website at fact-uk.org.uk.
DavidWebb says...
9:19pm Fri 18 Nov 11
How can the people of Salisbury have faith in those who are supposed to apply the law, if Salisbury Magistrates Court remains a laughing stock among Salisbury criminals?
Every night in and around Salisbury criminals laugh at how soft we are here in Salisbury and how liberal our courts are. The standing joke is: what's more difficult - doing the job or being sent down for it?
It is about time Salisbury had Magistrates who are willing to show criminals that crime does not pay and the punishment will fit the crime, every time.