Rogue pub jukebox bosses jailed
Bosses of a digital jukebox firm that distributed copyrighted tunes without permission to at least 200 pubs have been jailed.
Gateshead-based Access All Areas, which turned over more than £3m since it was set up in 2001, never paid music licensing bodies PPL nor MCPS fees. This is despite claiming to be fully licensed and using both company trademarks on their website.
The company changed names several times and in May 2008, trading standards executed a warrant on behalf of PPL and the BPI to raid their offices.
They found evidence of copyright infringement, which over the years had totaled hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The company traded under different names including Access All Areas Entertainment, Access All Areas Production, Mixopia and Tracks Alive. It sold and rented audio/visual jukeboxes to pubs and other leisure venues.
One of the defendants Malcolm Wylie, 59, of Gateshead has now been jailed for three years and banned from being a director for 10 years at Newcastle Crown Court. He admitted one count of distributing infringing copyright work.
His son Peter Wylie, 27, was found guilty of two counts of the same offence. He was given a nine-month prison sentence and a 15-month sentence, to run concurrently.
The other defendant, William Ross, was given a 36-week prison sentence, suspended for one year as part of a community order.
Passing the sentence, the judge said: "A clearer more flagrant breach of copyright law is hard to find."
The prosecution was mounted by PPL and BPI, which represents record labels.
Richard Stewart, head of dubbing and tariff development at PPL, said: "The judge clearly recognised the significant value and importance of intellectual property rights and sentenced the defendants accordingly.
"This was the first joint PPL/BPI operation and it is very pleasing to see it through to a successful conclusion.
"Going forwards PPL and the BPI will continue to make every effort to tackle piracy and copyright theft in our continuing efforts to protect our members and their rights"
David Wood, BPI's director of anti-piracy, said: "The significant sentences demonstrate that what may seem a victimless crime clearly is not.
"Intellectual property is property and stealing it is a crime."
