Copyright: Jail term for man selling pirated DVDs

In a first for New Zealand, a District Court Judge has sentenced a man to jail for selling pirated DVDs.

A man (Zheng Wang) has received a 15-month jail term for selling pirated DVDs at a South Auckland market.

The District Court Judge who sentenced Wang stated that the prisoner had shown no remorse and was likely to have been part of a much larger operation.

In the circumstances (and having regard to the fact that Wang had received a conviction a matter of weeks before for a very similar offence), Judge Harvey was of the view that a jail term was appropriate.

This is the first time that a sentence of imprisonment has been imposed for such an infringement and it should send a wake-up call to those who consider that they are at liberty to operate businesses that trade in infringing product.

Enquiries and information

For more information on the combating piracy, please email or call Garry Williams on 64 9 916 8661.