Gary used a satellite dish, seven computers and nine satellite decoders to run the freelivefooty website from his home. The site illegally streamed Premier League matches and charged viewers a price that undercut the official broadcaster, Sky. freelivefooty įACT conducted an investigation into the freelivefooty site and supplied evidence to Thames Valley Police who arrested the principal Gary. FACT provided the evidence for this case which resulted in the eventual closure of the site in 2012. In 2011 access to the Usenet indexing website Newzbin was blocked by BT and Sky following legal action in the UK by Hollywood film studios.

Subsequently, Vickerman was ordered to pay £73,055.79 within six months or face a further prison sentence under proceeds of crime legislation. Vickerman was charged with two counts of Conspiracy to Defraud and a criminal trial took place at Newcastle Crown Court in June and July 2012 in front of His Honour Judge Evans.Īfter a seven-week trial, the jury found Anton Vickerman guilty and he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment on each charge of Conspiracy to Defraud, sentencing to run concurrently. Action taken by Scopelight's owners to prevent the evidence being given to FACT was rejected at the Court of Appeal (Scopelight & Ors v Chief Constable of Northumbria Police & Federation Against Copyright Theft EWCA Civ 1156) where the Court judgment made clear the legality of providing evidence to support a private prosecution. FACT commenced a private criminal prosecution, which required access to all the evidence in the custody of the police. In June 2009, FACT brought criminal prosecution against the company Scopelight and its founder, Anton Vickerman, for running a pirate video search engine called, which had a substantial user base and was a highly profitable illegal business. 2.9 First 'card sharing' conviction in ScotlandįACT protects the intellectual property rights of global organisations including Premier League, BT Sport, Virgin Media and Sky.2.8 First sentencing in IPTV boxes case in England.

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