Man sentenced for selling illegal CD remixes
BBCA man has been handed a suspended prison sentence after breaking copyright laws by remixing and selling CDs featuring music from famous artists.
Marc Kearns, 47, created and distributed CDs "containing unauthorised remixes of well known tracks, using identifiable elements of original sound recordings without permission from the copyright owners," East Riding of Yorkshire Council said.
He was prosecuted following a lengthy investigation led by the authority's trading standards officers.
Kearns, of Back Lane, East Cowick, pleaded guilty to a number of charges at Hull Crown Court. On Thursday, he was given a 26-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, as well as 250 hours of unpaid work.
A council spokesperson said: "This activity enabled him to commercially exploit protected material, generating income at the expense of legitimate artists and businesses within the music industry."
Trading standards officers worked on the investigation for several years with national partners.
Councillor Lynn Healing said: "Counterfeit and unauthorised goods undermine fair trading and can generate significant illicit profit.
"We will not hesitate to take robust enforcement action where offences are identified, and this sentence sends a clear message that such activity will not be tolerated."
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Listen to highlights fromHull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, and watch the latest episode of Look Northor tell us about a story you think we should be coveringhere.
