Tougher penalties for UK copyright thieves


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A Bill which increases the maximum penalty for copyright theft in the UK from two years to 10 years has become law.

The main provisions of the Copyright etc and Trade Marks (Offences and Enforcement) Bill are:

1. Increase the penalties for copyright offences from two years to 10 years. This matches the penalty for trade mark law and also conspiracy to defraud. This rise in the penalty will be sought for cases where copyright holders suffer serious damage. The new penalty will also apply to the production of unauthorised decoders.

2. Strengthen search warrant powers for police officers to make it easier to expose counterfeiting so warrants can now be obtained for all copyright offences, including possession and sale of infringing articles/bootlegs.

3. Amend the current law on forfeiture, "which is a disorganised mixture of civil and criminal provisions". The new legislation will replace this and give all copyright investigations the same rights of service and forfeiture found within trade mark legislation.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/26443.html

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I posted this story yesterday... along with a couple others that are now on the main page I never got credit for. :(

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