Trading Standards warn school over 'pirate' DVDs

Although the students had not committed an offence to advertise the products, to sell them without permission from the trade mark holders or the licensed copyright owners would be illegal and to be convicted in a Crown Court could result in up to ten years imprisonment or unlimited fines, according to Buckinghamshire Trading Standards team leader Lambros Damopoulos.
He said: "The production, distribution and sale of counterfeit products is taken very seriously by Trading Standards who prosecute offenders and seize many thousands of pounds worth of counterfeit goods annually.
"The likelihood is that the students involved in the Enterprise Week are not aware of the legal requirements and potential offences. I will therefore contact Dr Challoner's Grammar School to advise them that their students should refrain from such activities."
An angry mother, who did not want to be named, was shown the poster by her son. She said: " I am thoroughly disgusted at how the school let those involved with 'Enterprise Week' advertise this illegal practice of selling copyright DVD's for profit. The school is meant to be teaching moral standards and respect for the law, yet obviously that is not the case. Piracy is obviously not high on the agenda."
Headteacher Mark Fenton said: "Having come up with the original idea, they had undertaken considerable research to try to make sure that what they were planning was legal. This included contacting the British Video Association who advised them that they could distribute films provided that they had negotiated permission from the owner of the rights.
"Unfortunately, they were then 'scammed' by a movie download site who told them on the phone that they could buy the rights to download movies for $50 which they then paid. Having investigated the terms and conditions of the site buried in the small print, it is now clear that what the boys were in fact buying was a piece of software which allows the user to search for and download movies.
"The small print makes it clear that users must comply with the copyright law of whichever country they are operating in. However, I am not surprised that they did not understand this as it was very hard to find on the site."
Dr Fenton added: "Having spoken to the boys, I am completely satisfied that they acted entirely in good faith. Indeed, they had gone to some lengths to ensure that what they were doing was legal.
"Unfortunately, they should have asked for more help from their parents or their teachers in checking out the small print of what they were planning. The boys were very upset that they were taken in by this website and they will all have learnt a valuable lesson from the experience. This will stand them in good stead in their future careers and it would be a great shame if there were to be deterred from future endeavours just because this one went a bit wrong."