UK government minister joins pirate raids
Published: 04 Dec 2002 17:42 GMT
UK culture minister Kim Howells has attended a dawn raid on an address used to distribute pirated games software.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning Kim Howells, culture minister for the UK, joined a raid being led by Cardiff Trading Standards on an address in Cardiff, Wales. Further raids have also been conducted across the UK today at addresses in Barking, London, Oldham, and Blaenavon.
The raids, which followed suspicions that a company called Brian Green Software had been trading in pirated goods, resulted in the seizure of counterfeit video games, music CDs, and movie DVDs. The investigation that eventually resulted in today's raids was a joint initiative between the Entertainment and Leisure Software Association (ELSPA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"Piracy is theft, plain and simple. It doesn't just affect large corporations, but also the small film, music and computer game companies that are integral to the future of the creative industries in this country," said Howells, who has responsibility for films and music within the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). "Raids like the one I have been on today, are very effective. But if we are to truly tackle piracy, the government and industry must work together to get across to the consumer that each time they buy pirate copies of CDs, DVDs, computer games and videos they are putting a nail in the coffin of the industries they love."
According to John Hillier, manager of ELSPA's anti-piracy unit, operations similar to those carried out today take place almost daily. According to ELSPA, around 80 percent of these raids not only result in them finding evidence of piracy, but also of other criminal activity -- including drug trafficking, pornography, and even terrorism.
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