Wednesday March 12, 2008
By Ben Cardew

A company that organises markets has been hit with a £300,000 bill, after it was found guilty of allowing traders to sell counterfeit goods.
Wendy Fair Markets Ltd and directors Nicholas Hobday and Sally Ward were found guilty of benefiting financially from the sale of counterfeit goods at Bovingdon Market, in a money laundering conviction secured by Hertfordshire Trading Standards last July.

St Albans Crown Court subsequently ordered that the company has to pay back £250,000 it took in rent money from traders selling counterfeit goods, with prosecution court costs of £50,000 added.

The overall amount has to be paid by September 10, at which time the company, Ward and Hobday will be sentenced.

The BPI and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), worked with the Hertfordshire Trading Standards and Hertfordshire Constabulary in providing evidence of persistent offences relating to the sale of counterfeit CDs and DVDs at Bovingdon Market.

BPI director of anti-piracy David Wood says, "Until now, we have only seen prosecutions against the sellers themselves. This is the first time a market owner has been prosecuted and stripped of income made through the sale of counterfeit CDs and DVDs on their premises. So it is a hugely important ruling for music and the wider creative industries.

"Whilst illegal downloading remains the biggest threat to the future of the music community, CD piracy still deprives us in excess of £160m annually. This precedent-setting result will dramatically enhance the authorities' effectiveness in tackling commercial counterfeiting. Furthermore, the £300,000 that Wendy Fairs will now have to pay to the fcourt should send a clear message to market owners nationwide that they cannot expect to duck responsibility for this illegal activity whilst generating income."