UK internet pirate jailed for four years

An internet pirate who made up to £60,000 (€76,000) a month from his site which allowed people to download TV shows and films was jailed in the UK for four years today.

Anton Vickerman’s surfthechannel.com attracted 400,000 visitors a day and was close to the top 500 most popular websites at its peak.

The site cost the film industry tens of millions of pounds, and ultimately huge loses to the Inland Revenue, the prosecution said.

It provided links to films, sometimes before they were released in cinemas. Volunteers searched the net for links and moderators checked the titles were usable.

Vickerman, 38, originally from Gateshead whose latest address was Citygate, Newcastle, valued the site at £255,000 (€325,000) when he offered it for sale in 2008.

Over two years the site, run via the former DJ and BT employee’s firm Scopelight, turned over £1m with a profit of £250,000 (€318,000), Newcastle Crown Court heard.

He was jailed after being convicted of two counts of conspiracy to defraud in June.

Judge John Evans told him: “Ultimately films will not be made if the producers cannot make them at a profit.”

He said the public may suffer from piracy by having to pay more to watch films at the cinema.