Aaron ThomasELSPA made software pirates around the world sad today, with the release of its 2004 raid figures.
ELSPA's dedicated anti-piracy unit was founded in 1994, and has since been conducting on average 10 raids per week. In 2004, a total of 538 raids were carried out across the country, resulting in the removal of over £4 million worth of copied games from the marketplace and the successful prosecution of 67 software counterfeiters.
Roger Bennett, director general of ELSPA commented: "We have seen an encouraging set of results from the past few years which reflect the outstanding efforts of our tireless anti-piracy team and its strong relationships with Trading Standards, Police and other industry trade bodies. While this is just the tip of the iceberg, we are committed to increasing the pressure on criminal activity that undermines the performance of not only our members, but of the industry as a whole."
The bottom line? Piracy is bad, and you can go to jail for it.
