Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 9, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The parliamentary-group member, deeply rooted in local politics, sold industrially counterfeited DVDs with the first four seasons of the series “Six Feet Under” via eBay. In the criminal proceedings opened as a result, his connections to local politics were of little use to him: The Münster Local Court recently sentenced him to a six-month suspended sentence as well as a probation condition of 20,000 euros.
As early as 2005, the Society for the Prosecution of Copyright Infringements e.V. (GVU) had become aware of the seller. The organization then arranged for the deletion of corresponding auctions as part of the Verified Rights Owner Program (VeRI). At the same time, the GVU pointed out to him the illegality of his offering. Regardless of this, the man again opened sales auctions with illegal copies of the US television series. The GVU then filed a criminal complaint. A subsequent police search produced more than 800 DVD boxes produced in China and imported by the perpetrator – including multiple seasons of the series “Queer as a Folk” as well as “Six Feet Under”. Because of 30 proven sales of the latter series, the court imposed the sentence, which has been legally binding since the end of June.
