AFP executes raids in copyright blitz
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) yesterday embarked on a major crackdown of counterfeit goods, including pirated software, computers, CDs and DVDs, in a move hailed as a victory in the war against copyright infringement by software companies such as Microsoft and representatives of the music, film and TV industries.
In a statement, the AFP said it had executed 21 warrants across Australia in relation to what it called "counterfeit goods", a description including not only intellectual property, but also items such as clothing and handbags. The raids hit Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
AFP acting manager of Crime Operations, Stephan Obers, warned the nation to be aware that selling or distributing such goods was a criminal offence.
"Police across Australia can and do charge persons with criminal offences related to counterfeiting," he said. "This is a warning that if you are selling these goods you may be subject to a police investigation for committing intellectual property crimes. Australian legislation provides for a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment for copyright offences and two years for trademark offences."
The AFP said that the arrests were the result of investigations which had stemmed from information provided by industry stakeholders such as Music Industry Piracy Investigations, the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft, the Trade Mark Investigations Service and the Union of European Football Associations.
Several of those organisations and Microsoft, which is itself stepping up its fight against piracy in Australia, immediately welcomed the AFP's national raid.
"High quality counterfeit software is an increasingly sophisticated form of software piracy that is difficult to detect, which affects the bottom line of thousands of legitimate businesses across Australia and endangers consumers' and business' computers through potential malware or virus infection," said Microsoft's local director of intellectual property Vanessa Hutley.
"Consumer awareness, collaboration across industries and law enforcement bodies like the AFP are the most effective ways to tackle this issue, and Microsoft applauds the AFP's most recent efforts."
Music Industry Piracy Investigations' general manager Sabiene Heindl said that music piracy undermined the ability of Australian artists and songwriters to get rewarded for their hard work, and that her group "wholeheartedly" supported the AFP's push. The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft similarly welcomed the push.
The Business Software Alliance of Australia is an organisation representing companies like Microsoft, which attempts to stop copyright infringement of software products. The group's co-chair Clayton Noble claimed piracy cost the Australian software industry hundreds of millions of dollars each year.