ELSPA angry over piracy ruling
Judge Bray described games-buying public as "grossly overcharged"
ELSPA, the European Leisure Software Publishers Association, has received two crushing blows in the sentencing of Radomir Lukic and Kevin Bailey, brought to trial by a joint investigation from ELSPA, the National Crime Squad, BT and Telewest. The two were found guilty of trademark offences and conspiracy to defraud at Leicester Crown Court, but in sentencing the pair, Judge Bray took a swipe at the gaming industry.
PlayStation pirates and mobile phone chippers Lukic and Bailey have been sentenced to two and a half years in jail and 150 hours community service respectively, with a mountain of evidence and signed confessions to stand against them. Judge Bray presiding over the case, took a pop at ELSPA, stating "I have not closed my eyes to the fact that the retailers and publishers are grossly overcharging the general public".
Wounded by the attack on pricing, ELSPA took another blow from Judge Bray, when he claimed that the crime of counterfeiting PlayStation software was far less serious than the other charge, "chipping" mobile phones.
Furious with the Judge's remarks, ELSPA issued a statement almost immediately, refuting his claims and branding him "uninformed" and "completely incorrect". This is certainly not the outcome ELSPA will have been hoping for, but BT and Telewest are probably quietly amused by it.