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Man arrested for online copyright offences

November 22, 2016

By Colin Mann

The City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) arrested a 35-year-old man in the south England town of Maidenhead on November 17th on suspicion of copyright offences relating to an attempt to sell the Brotherhood movie online. The suspect has since been bailed until a date in January 2017. The arrest follows a copy of the film being available to buy on the dark web weeks before the scheduled home release.

Detectives from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit have seized computers and counterfeit goods from the address following the arrest. The arrest was made after Entura International, an anti-piracy company, passed information to PIPCU.

Brotherhood is a 2016 crime drama movie starring Noel Clarke.

“Protecting the creative industries is of paramount importance to the UK and the Government estimates that it contributes £84.1 billion to the economy,” declared Detective Inspector Michael Dodge of the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit. “Intellectual property crime is not a victimless crime as not only do hundreds of thousands of jobs rely on it but the money made funds organised crime groups that can also be involved in people and drug trafficking.”

“The importance of protecting film from theft is something I have always felt strongly about as without it the industry has no future,” stated the film’s producer Jason Maza. “I’m so happy that the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) and Entura were able to act so quickly to stop this thief in their tracks and hope that this arrest acts as a warning to those out there considering such behaviour in the future.”

“It’s gratifying to see justice delivered for the UK creative community,” added Elliott Ingram from Entura International. “At Entura, we’re proud of the role we play in protecting creators and innovators in the film, TV, and music industries, and we believe in supporting a safe online environment for consumers to enjoy content. With the ongoing support of PIPCU and other law enforcement agencies, we aim to help the arts to flourish in the digital age.”

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