DVD pirate receives £55,000 fine

Spencer sold hundreds of copies of Lord of the Rings on eBay

A British man who traded counterfeit DVDs on the internet auction site eBay has been fined £55,000.

Peter Spencer, 39, from Oakhill Park in Bradford, pleaded guilty to importing and distributing pirated DVDs at Bradford Crown Court in May.

He received a six-month jail sentence and has now been ordered to pay £55,000 or face a further two years in prison.

The sum was judged to be his profit from selling pirated copies of films like Kill Bill and Lord of The Rings.

Spencer was brought to court following an investigation by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (Fact), which found he had more than 950 counterfeit DVDs for sale on eBay in January 2004.

The investigation team believed he had made £14,000 from the sale of one title alone, Lord Of the Rings: The Return of the King.

The discs had been produced in plants in the Far East and had their region coding removed so that they would play in any DVD player worldwide.

Spencer is thought to have used around 500 identities to trade on eBay over a two-year period.

Fact director Kieron Sharp said he hoped the fine would send "a strong message to those using auction sites such as eBay that they are not immune from prosecution and further action should they trade in counterfeit goods".