Balls To The Haul

Monday 6th August/...An early morning raid at a Halifax car boot sale, which led to the largest console chipping seizure ever discovered in the UK, was shown to newly appointed Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls - highlighting the excellent use government funding in the fight against video games copyright crime.

Mr Balls, who is known to be one of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's closest allies, and who has been the Member of Parliament for Normanton since 2005, was invited by West Yorkshire Trading Standards' Chief Officer, Graham Hebblethwaite, to see for himself the results of Operation Poseidon - a raid made significantly easier by the aforementioned government funding given to Trading Standards services throughout the UK to enforce the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1988).

The discovery, from a residential property in Halifax came about after a raid on the town's car boot sale on Sunday 29th July, where a 23 year-old man was earlier chased down and arrested. Later in the day, at the man's premise, West Yorkshire Trading Standards officers and West Yorkshire Police, unearthed a staggering 246 Wii and 168 Xbox 360 consoles with a retail value in excess of £125,000.

Also seized from the property in the joint operation were: 19 PSPs, 12 DS Lites, six PlayStation 2s (Slimline and standard models) and six PlayStation 3s, along with computers used for the duplication of copied discs, the chips themselves intended for the chipping process, 300-400 copied games discs, and £5,000 in cash.

The original operation at the market had resulted in two further individuals being arrested for selling copied DVDs and CDs. A total of over 5000 discs were seized with a retail value of over £50,000.

All consoles have now been sent to ELSPA's (the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association) Anti-Piracy Unit (APU) for forensic examination.

Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA commented: "I congratulate West Yorkshire Trading Standards and west Yorkshire Police for what stands as a landmark seizure of chipped consoles and illegally copied discs. The scale of the operation and the removal of counterfeit material from the market place will have an immediate impact on local businesses in the area."

Graham Hebblethwaite, Chief Officer of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said: "Copyright crime is driven by greed and causes a loss of millions of pounds to retailers of West Yorkshire and to members of the music and entertainment industry every year. The haul of items from this operation should send out a clear warning to individuals involved in the illegal copyright industry that they will dealt with severely. This sort of crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment."

Councillor Geoff Driver, of the Trading Standards Committee, added: "This service is determined to strike hard against individuals involved in this illegal industry. We will continue to work closely with the Police and industry bodies to ensure that these activities are stamped out. If anybody has more information about this illegal activity then they should contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506."

Acting Sergeant Louise Holbrook, of the Halifax Town Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: The arrests and seizures here show that west Yorkshire Police is committed to tackling this and all types of crime. The operation is a good example of partnership work achieving results that should act as a warning to criminals across the region."

Calderdale Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development, David Kirton, said: "we are delighted by the outcome of this multi-agency operation. It reinforces the Council's commitment to keeping our markets free of dishonest traders and hopefully the results of this operation will send a clear message that they are not welcome in Calderdale. It also underlines our on-going proactive approach to maintaining a healthy, honest and vibrant trading platform for all our markets and making sure shoppers and traders are able to continue their business with confidence."

Ends.

EDITORS NOTES

Background Information

The money provided by the government for Trading Standards is to enforce, in particular, Section 107 of the Copyrights, Design and Patents Act (1988). It isn't specifically for 'chipping offences' (Section 296ZB). Operation Poseidon used some of this allocation to West Yorkshire Trading Standards for the raid which was carried out at the car boot sale in Halifax on Sunday 29th July. Although not used for chipping offences per se, it was a by-product of that original funding and it is still comes under the heading of copyright offence.

About ELSPA

ELSPA (the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association) was founded in 1989 to establish a specific and collective identity for the computer and video games industry. Membership includes almost all companies concerned with the publishing and distribution of interactive leisure software in the UK.

ELSPA's activities include: Official Chart and Industry Reports, Anti-Piracy UK and EU, PR and Communication, Events. More information on all these activities can be found at http://www.elspa.com.

About Software Piracy and its negative impact on both consumers and industry.

ELSPA estimates criminal gain through computer and video games piracy sits at approximately £540 million.

Piracy/counterfeiting is illegal and punishable by fines and jail sentences.

The illegal copying of software poses the very real threat of criminal prosecution and a criminal record, as well as the risk of massive personal financial loss under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Consumers have no recourse under law for faulty pirated games, which can damage hardware.

Counterfeited/pirated games are often mixed with obscene or pornographic material.

Local and national jobs are lost as result of pirate operations.

Proven links exist between many organised counterfeiting organisations and dealers in drugs and pornography.

For further information on ELSPA or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Tom Sargent/Laura West

Barrington Harvey

Tel: 01462 456780

Fax: 01462 456781

Email: tom.sargent@bhpr.co.uk/ laura.west@bhpr.co.uk

Issued by: Barrington Harvey, Trooper's Yard, Bancroft, Hitchin SG5 1JW