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North East Pirates Face The Music On Teesside
After a private prosecution by UK record companies trade association the BPI, a ten-strong gang of music pirates dubbed "The Teesside Ten" were today (April 11) sentenced after pleading guilty to charges of Conspiracy to Defraud the music and film industries. BPI Director of Anti-Piracy Dave Martin said, "This is one of the most significant cases yet seen in the UK. These people ripped off artists, record companies and the public to the tune of £1.2m." In delivering the sentences, His Honour Judge Moorhouse said: "The whole purpose of copyright law is to ensure that those who create music and films have the exclusive right to benefit from their creativity. "It is the duty of the court to send a warning to everyone that if you behave in this way you risk losing your liberty." The gang comprised two ringleaders, Mark Bailey and Paul Canning, and a complex web of eight members of their friends and family (see diagram). Mark Bailey and Paul Canning were the ringleaders in the operation. Each was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. Gillian Harrison is Mark Bailey's girlfriend and was sentenced to six months in prison. David and Maureen Bailey are his parents and were fined £500 each. Glen Harrison is Gillian Harrison's brother. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Christine Allan is Glen Harrison's girlfriend, she was employed by Mark Bailey and she has been ordered to do 200 hours community service. Julie Parkin is Paul Canning's girlfriend and has been sentenced to 200 hours community service. Vanessa Canning is his sister and has been sentenced to 160 hours community service. David Middleton was employed by Paul Canning and has been sentenced to four months in prison. The court heard that in a sophisticated operation the gang had raked in a massive £11,000 per week over the duration of the scam – amounting to more than £1.2 million in total. An estimated £6,000 a week came from market sales, an additional £1,500 through a "weekly club" and a further estimated £3,500 weekly through wholesale and mail-order. Most counterfeits had been sold from stalls at markets, including Tanfield Lea Market (Stanley, County Durham), Seaham Market (County Durham), Batleys (Chester-le-Street, County Durham) and Sedgefield (County Durham). The gang even created a weekly "club", through which more than 100 regular customers would receive the previous week's albums for a subscription fee of £15 a week. BPI Director of Anti-Piracy David Martin said: "These were sophisticated criminals using the techniques of legitimate business to ply their illegal trade. But it's very easy to make a profit on a £3 CD when you invest a grand total of nothing in the creative process." Private prosecution Record companies' trade association the BPI took the unusual step of launching a private criminal prosecution against the gang because of the seriousness of the offences. The case forms part of a wider crackdown on piracy in the North East. Although the BPI is involved with hundreds of anti-piracy cases per year, only one or two are private criminal prosecutions and this is the first since repeat offender David Stanley was sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment in March 2003. BPI Director of Anti-Piracy David Martin said: "Music piracy is a problem all over the UK, but it's particularly bad in the North East. We are pleased that on this occasion that we have been able to bring such a high-profile gang to justice. "
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