A Scottish man has beenjailed and more are awaiting trial in a nationwide crackdown on film piracy inthe UK. The initiative is a partnership between local TradingStandards agencies, the Federation Against CopyrightTheft (FACT) and police.

On Oct 2, Brent and HarrowTrading Standards Service working with Metropolitan Police and FACT targetedblack-market DVD streettraders on St Anns Rd. Over 1000 illegal DVDs were seized in the raid,including counterfeit blockbuster cinema releases and pornographic titles. Ninetraders are now being investigated by Trading Standards after some werearrested.

Days earlier, on Sept 28, a31-year-old woman was remanded in custody and is awaiting sentencing afterbeing caught illegally trading DVDs in the same area. It was her fourthoffence.

John Taylor, Director of theTrading Standards Service said, "We are hoping Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) can be used to stop these traders from continuallyreturning to sell DVDS."

Meanwhile, in Kent, a partnership between FACT and the Kent PoliceIsland Neighbourhood Team led to the arrest of a man on suspicion of producingcounterfeit DVDs on Sept 29. Officers arrested the 34-year-old local man andseized 14 DVD burners, a colour printer, 20 boxes of DVD cases, blank DVDs anda large quantity of illegally recorded DVDs from a caravan park in Plough Lane, Minster. It was estimated that the set-up couldhave produced over 1,000 illegal DVDs a day.

In Scotland, a Glasgow man who was caught twice by Trading Standards with 1800illegal DVDs at Ayr Sunday Market pled guilty to charges at Ayr Sheriff Court last week and was sentenced to two years and 10months imprisonment. The sentence reflected the fact that he failed to appearat his first court hearing.