Pirate DVD seller sent to jail

Thousands of copied items were found

A Leicester man has been given a total of nine months in jail after he was caught running an illegal DVD business from his home.

Matthew Rogers, 31, from Heather Road in Knighton, made over £18,000 from copied DVDs, CDs and computer games.

When Trading Standards officers raided his house in November 2002, they found a catalogue of over 4,000 items.

The officers said the case showed technology was allowing piracy to reach a new scale.

Quickly produced

Rodgers took his orders over the internet, produced the copies in a front bedroom, then sent them out by post.

He had earlier been convicted of 15 offences under the video recording and trademark acts.

His defence said the operation originally started with him copying items for family and friends but then grew.

Trading Standards officers said that a pirated DVD could be produced on readily available equipment in under 30 minutes.

The whole catalogue built up by Rodgers is now to be destroyed.