Two arrested over piracy at computer fair

DiamondGeezer

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Police and trading standards officers in Yorkshire have seized counterfeit goods and equipment at a Bradford computer fair. The full retail value of the goods would have been £1m, they said.

The raid was carried out at a weekend computer fair in Bradford and involved the seizure of counterfeit software and machinery to 'chip' games consoles. Chipping a console makes it possible to play pirated games on it by circumventing the digital rights management systems of the machine.

Two men were arrested at the fair at the Richard Dunn Sports Centre in Bradford for selling copied computer software and games. Police and trading standards officers then carried out a search of a home in Leeds and uncovered 5,000 discs containing pirated software, music and films.

Though the value of the pirated items was estimated by trading standards officials to be £100,000, the value of that number of geniune products would have been £1m, said the West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service (WYTSS).

"The Service would like to send out a warning to individuals involved in software piracy that they will be dealt with severely," said Graham Hebblethwaite, chief officer of the WYTSS. "The maximum penalty for crimes under copyright and trademark legislation carries a sentence of ten years imprisonment.”

“The illegal software trade is worth hundreds of millions of pounds in the domestic market alone," he said. "Trading Standards have had the power to enforce the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act since April 2007 and the Service is committed to enforcing this Act to eradicate the sale of counterfeit software, music and computer games in the county."

Last year a section of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act was put into force, changing the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act to give new powers to trading standards officers.

They were given the power to seize goods and documents and make test purchases. They also have a general duty to enforce copyright law.

The move was one of the recommendations of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property carried out on behalf of the Treasury by Andrew Gowers in 2006. The then-Department of Trade and Industry backed the move with what it said was £5m of new investment in the trading standards system.

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/05/07/computer_fair_piracy_arrests/
 
Makes me sick.
Why does the government and local councils spend so much money trying to protect multi national businesses?

If someone is selling fake clothes as real, then I agree to nick them 'cos thay are ripping off the public.
DVDS and software is different 'cos the buyer knows it is a copy (no rip off)
Government and councils are supposed to protect the public, not billionaires, let them investigate piracy and take whoever they catch to civil court.

If Microsoft Office and Windows 95 had not been available as copies then Microsoft would not have become so large. I firmly believe that piracy was the main reason Bill Gates' empire grew so large so quickly.
These two packages became so prevalent on computers that people such as corporations and even smaller companies had to buy legal licences.
In fact Microsoft didn't even bother to pursue individuals; they were making a tidy some from those that were forced to pay up.

I ask you; what private individuals would have paid for them
 
Makes me sick.
Why does the government and local councils spend so much money trying to protect multi national businesses?

If someone is selling fake clothes as real, then I agree to nick them 'cos thay are ripping off the public.
DVDS and software is different 'cos the buyer knows it is a copy (no rip off)
Government and councils are supposed to protect the public, not billionaires, let them investigate piracy and take whoever they catch to civil court.

If Microsoft Office and Windows 95 had not been available as copies then Microsoft would not have become so large. I firmly believe that piracy was the main reason Bill Gates' empire grew so large so quickly.
These two packages became so prevalent on computers that people such as corporations and even smaller companies had to buy legal licences.
In fact Microsoft didn't even bother to pursue individuals; they were making a tidy some from those that were forced to pay up.

I ask you; what private individuals would have paid for them
microsoft was based on a stolen piece of software
windows
 
Software programmers copy other peoples code all the time.
Take the first 3D game (can't remember the name, it's the one where you have to kill Nazis).
Nobody can tell me that subsequent games didn't copy the original game engine.

I think Bill Gates stole an operating system from IBM. They've been trying (unsuccessfully) to copy Apple since then.
 
wolfenstein 3d

He did steal anything from IBM they were partners on the OS2 platform and MS licensed aversion of DOS to IBM which they renames MS DOS.

OS2 was the building blocks for windows.

And Macs I think you will find it is the other way around, they now use an x86 architecture, how PC of them.

Macs do what Macs do best look pretty, and try to show up in as many film/tv franchises as possible.
 
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i knew about this as soon as they were hit.

they are from Bowlers on a Saturday, and some suspicious fella walked to his stall and asked if the adobe cd had a serial with it.

the guy was deffo trading standards, he stook out liek a sore thumb, so he was followed round bowlers, and left and headed towards his car where another male was waiting, very smartly dressed.

24 hours later, they were hit in Bradford.

stall is empty for few weeks now on Bowlers.
 
Bowlers is'nt it more like a friggin shop these days, OK you have the odd guy at the gates giving out his 'business card' to get some snide backups, inside you have loads of people chippin consoles. I preferred it about 5 years ago when they used to have all backups laid out on the grass as you go in, and every week I used to pee myself when they call that trading/customs/police were coming over there walky-talkies. Ahh those were the days. Salford market on Sunday is the same, but I think the police are a bit scared on going on if you no what I mean, a bit to organised,wink-wink.....
 
a guy who lives round the corner used to setup up his stall on the grass lol
them where the days
 
Just wondering what the machinery was to 'chip' games consoles

a soldering iron?
 
I thought is was not illegal to chip a console as long as you do not use it to play illegal backups.

Does not the same rule apply to radar speed camera detectors where you can have them installed but cannot use them?

This country is getting worst all the time
 
I believe that the chips are illegal because they contain a modified version of the original ROM (BIOS or whatever you want to call it).
Apparently radar detectors are not illegal or even to use them, in fact they are actively encouraged because they make the driver more aware of the speeds they are driving (according to an old episode of 5th Gear I watched the other night).

Lets be honest, most of us use pirated software however it is difficult to justify particularly to the extent of some earlier comments. If piracy was as rife here as in say China then we wouldn't have any of this fancy software/new films/games/consoles etc etc.

I personally (though I couldn't really justify it other than my own greed) use pirated software that I would otherwise do without, for example I have bought my OS, though I would loathe to spend £100 plus for Office when I maybe edit 2 or 3 documents a year. I refuse to spend £200+ for a graphics package when again I might only use it once or twice a year. Not saying i'm right but that's how I justify it. I don't feel that £100 for an OS is a bad purchase when it is supported/updated and used daily for maybe 5 years.
 
I thought is was not illegal to chip a console as long as you do not use it to play illegal backups.

Does not the same rule apply to radar speed camera detectors where you can have them installed but cannot use them?

This country is getting worst all the time

just found this article

http://www.geek.com/uk-declares-console-modchips-illegal/

what they are saying that it is illegal in the UK but countries such as Italy are in favor of modchips
 
It can't be illegal to chip your machine.
It belongs to you and you can do what you like to it.
 
Makes me sick.
Why does the government and local councils spend so much money trying to protect multi national businesses?

If someone is selling fake clothes as real, then I agree to nick them 'cos thay are ripping off the public.
DVDS and software is different 'cos the buyer knows it is a copy (no rip off)
Government and councils are supposed to protect the public, not billionaires, let them investigate piracy and take whoever they catch to civil court.

If Microsoft Office and Windows 95 had not been available as copies then Microsoft would not have become so large. I firmly believe that piracy was the main reason Bill Gates' empire grew so large so quickly.
These two packages became so prevalent on computers that people such as corporations and even smaller companies had to buy legal licences.
In fact Microsoft didn't even bother to pursue individuals; they were making a tidy some from those that were forced to pay up.

I ask you; what private individuals would have paid for them

They are supposed to protect the public true, but they are also trying to protect the economy. If you were to start a business and you were selling photographs or something, if someone was selling your copies of your photographs, you would expect the police to do something about it because you're losing money.

I'm not saying that piracy is always bad, or that it's always wrong. I believe that most piracy is only committed just because it's cheap or free. However, you can't expect the police not to investigate piracy.

Also don't forget businesses pay taxes as well, especially those earning millions. You could argue that that is going towards schools etc (though you could argue it's not as well)
 
is it a police matter or customs and excise? Since all the raids I have seen tend to involve both.
 
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