Pub jukebox scammers jailed
A father and son who breached copyright law by selling illegal music systems to pubs and clubs have been jailed following a "landmark" legal case.
Malcolm Wylie and his son Peter set up a number of companies, including Access All Areas and Rent-a-system.co.uk, that sold illegal music systems to venues across the North East.
The scam helped their business turnover more than £1.3m, after pubs were sold the illegal jukebox systems at prices ranging from £5,000 to £70,000. Around 200 businesses were targeted across the country, it was claimed.
Sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday, Judge Guy Whitburn said: "A clearer more flagrant breach of copyright law is hard to find."
Malcolm Wylie, 59, of Gateshead, was sentenced to three years in prison and banned from taking the position of director for 10 years, after previously admitting one count of distributing infringing copyright work between May 2003 and January 2009.
His son Peter, 27, was given a nine-month prison sentence and a 15-month sentence, to run concurrently, after previously being found guilty by a Crown Court jury of two counts of the same offence.
Another man involved in the case, William Ross, was given a 36-week prison sentence, suspended for one year as part of a community order.
The case was brought by PPL and record company umbrella organisation the BPI who branded it a "landmark" case. Richard Stewart, PPL's head of dubbing & tariff development, said the company was extremely pleased with the sentences.
"The judge clearly recognised the significant value and importance of intellectual property rights and sentenced the defendants accordingly," he said.
David Wood, the BPI's director of anti-piracy, also welcomed the outcome. "The significant sentences demonstrate that what may seem a victimless crime clearly is not," he said.
"As stated in the course of proceedings today, intellectual property is property and stealing it is a crime."
