THE recording and film industry yesterday threatened legal action to close one of Scotland's biggest markets after a raid netted more than (pounds) 10m worth of counterfeit goods.
More than 100 police officers targeted Ingliston market, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, on Sunday, confiscating counterfeit DVDs, CDs and computer software. The operation, led by Lothian and Borders Police, follows several high-profile raids on the Barras market in Glasgow earlier this year in which illegal goods worth (pounds) 2m were confiscated.
However, the Federation Against Copyright Theft (Fact), which collaborated in the operation with the British Phonographic Industry's anti-piracy unit, said its success was marred by the reluctance of licensing boards to deal with copyright theft.
John McGowan, Fact's senior investigator in Scotland, said yesterday: ''The police are doing a fantastic job, but we're worried that, unless the licensing boards effect a culture change it will just go back to the situation as it was before. We have got to change the environment in which these illegal goods are sold.''
Mr McGowan said Fact was receiving legal advice on the possibility of having Ingliston's trading licence revoked. He said there were no plans to initiate similar legal action in Glasgow but that it was ''running out of patience'' with the lack of progress against the Barras market.
He said a council working group was established a year ago to examine the issue of copyright theft at the Barras but has not produced a plan.
The black market in pirate videos, music, DVDs, and computer software and other counterfeit goods is estimated at (pounds) 1bn per year and thought to be linked to organised crime.
Among the tens of thousands of goods seized in the latest raid were copies of films not yet on general release, including Elf and Love, Actually. Lothian and Borders Police said the confiscated property was loaded into vans and taken to a secret location for further examination. Eighteen people were detained.
A report is expected to be made to the procurator-fiscal later this week. Detective Inspector Gavin Barry, who was in charge of the operation, said it targeted ''key individuals'' who were making ''massive profits dealing illegally in counterfeit goods''.
He added: ''The people trading illegally at these markets are conning the public, and anyone that buys from them is most likely giving money to a larger criminal network. Our operation has disrupted that activity.''
A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council said: ''The trade in illegal goods goes on unlicensed in areas around the Barras market. There is nothing the council can do to tackle that. It is an area for trading standards as well.''
Tighter licence conditions have been proposed in Edinburgh that would see improved records kept of individual market traders at Ingliston.
However, a council spokeswoman said yesterday that the licence holder has appealed against the new regulations, and the dispute is continuing.
David Martin, the BPI's director of anti-piracy, said the raid had been a ''fantastic result'' against dealers who had been flooding the market with pirate products. He said: ''We work closely with officers at the Barras market in Glasgow and there is still a huge problem there. I think some of the dealers moved through to Ingliston from the Barras because they thought it was not as tightly regulated. We have shown that is not the case.''
Spook Erection, which operates the market, said later that it was ''amazed'' and ''concerned'' that it had taken so long to target illegal trading at Ingliston.
A spokesman said it had informed trading standards officers for years about the sale of fake goods and as recently as last April had written to request that action be taken.
He said: ''Spook Erection believes it is not possible for a layman to differentiate between genuine goods and counterfeit computer games, CDs, DVDs and video tapes, hence their requests for trading standards to assist in eradicating this trade in the market.''
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