More charges likely in video pirate war

A clampdown on video pirates is likely to result in more people appearing in court and possibly going to jail, a copyright watchdog group says.

A South Auckland man is expected to receive a two-year prison term after admitting 21 charges of copyright theft involving pirated movies this week.

John Houston pleaded guilty in the Manukau District Court and was told by Judge David Harvey he was likely to be sent to jail for two years when he appeared for sentencing next month.

It is believed to be the largest prosecution in the country for copying and selling pirated movies.

The charges were laid after an investigation involving the New Zealand Federation Against Copyright Theft, the Department of Internal Affairs and the police.

"Houston was burning bootlegged copies of the latest movies to DVD and selling them at street markets all over Auckland," federation director of operations Tony Eaton said.

After Houston was arrested, Internal Affairs inspectors examined his computer and found 486 movies on his hard drive.

"His computer was obviously sophisticated and had over a terabyte of memory," Mr Eaton said.

Houston's detailed records had shown he earned between $120,000 and $150,000 a year for the past five years.

Mr Eaton said many people considered it a way to earn money, but the federation was clamping down on video pirates and more prosecutions could be expected.

The maximum penalty is a fine of up to $150,000 and five years' jail for each charge of copyright theft.

- NZPA