The Court of Criminal Appeal has jailed a man for six months for circulating a total 528 counterfeit DVDs and CDs.


In a statement released in reaction to this judgement the Association Against Copyright Theft said that: “This is the first prison sentence for selling pirated DVDs and Play Station/PC games given in Malta.”


Reno Buhagiar had originally been given a six-month jail term suspended for a year and fined Lm200 when he admitted to circulating the counterfeit items in Bugibba, breaching copyright and relapsing.


The Attorney General appealed the judgement and Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, in the appeal court, upheld the appeal. He ruled that the first court could have never handed down a suspended jail term since Mr Buhagiar admitted to relapsing and breaching a previous court order.

Mr Buhagiar was sentenced to six months imprisonment and fined Lm200.

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