Film forger fined for Facebook sales

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A CWMBRAN man has been made to pay £1,379 and carry out 120 hours of unpaid work for selling counterfeit DVDs on Facebook.

Matthew Cook, 40, of Northville, Cwmbran, pleaded guilty to nine charges under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, when the case was heard at Newport Magistrates Court on Friday, October 13.

An investigation by Torfaen council’s trading standards team revealed that Cook was advertising counterfeit DVDs, including films not yet released at the cinema, across a number of Facebook pages.

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Laptops and phones containing hundreds of films, box sets, and software to download titles illegally, were seized.

The court ordered Cook to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 month and to pay costs to the council of £1,294, and an £85 victim surcharge.

Cllr Fiona Cross, executive member with responsibility for public protection, said: “By purchasing counterfeit goods, consumers are supporting illegal and criminal traders and undermining legitimate businesses.

“I would urge residents to only buy goods from reputable or accredited sellers.

“Counterfeit goods and pirated content not only affect big businesses and the UK economy, but the losses they cause have a grave negative impact on the thousands of people employed in those industries, contributing to rental and retail store closures, the loss of jobs and a growing threat to future investment.

“Our trading standards team works extremely hard to tackle the sale and supply of counterfeit goods.

“People caught selling counterfeit or fake goods don’t just risk getting a heavy fine or imprisonment - their financial affairs can also be investigated and courts can confiscate any monies or assets that they can’t prove has been earned legitimately.”