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Council Cracks Down On Counterfeit Crime

On Friday 28th July at Bournemouth Magistrates Court the Borough of Poole's Environment and Consumer Protection Services (E&CPS) successfully prosecuted a man for handling counterfeit goods.

Mr Steven Jolliffe, aged 28,  pleaded guilty to one count of selling and eleven counts of having in possession for sale DVDs bearing signs which were likely to be considered registered trade marks.

The case came following a complaint received by E&CPS last year about Mr Jolliffe selling counterfeit DVDs on eBay which was subsequently verified by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT).

Council officers later seized almost 400 DVDs together with two computers and a number of blank DVDs from Mr Jolliffe's house. Upon inspection FACT confirmed that a number of the DVDs were counterfeit and computer forensics verified that both computers had been used for selling the DVDs on eBay.

Mr Jolliffe was co-operative during the investigation and has since supplied information of the suppliers of the DVDs together with other eBay members suspected of selling counterfeit DVDs to the relevant authorities.

The Court fined Mr Jolliffe £1,000 and ordered him to pay the prosecution costs of £1,070. They also agreed to forfeiture of all of the DVDs including 62 empty DVD cases, 3 packs of wrapping sleeves and 3 spools of blank DVDs.

Councillor Don Collier, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for the Environment said: "Handling and supplying counterfeit goods is a serious offence, and one that can ultimately lead to a prison sentence.  We would urge anyone who believes that counterfeit goods are being sold on the internet or through other means to report their suspicions to Environmental and Consumer Protection on 01202 261700."

Katharine Teed, Communications, Borough of Poole on 01202 633295