05 October 2023 , 06:42
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A man who secretly recorded Hollywood films in a cinema and sent them to a "friend in Ukraine " may have cost the film industry £2million, a court has heard.
Vasile Nicolaveci, used his mobile phone to record copies of The Railway Children Return, Where the Crawdads Sing, and Hustle at Odeon and Showcase cinemas in Liverpool in June and July last year. But despite the 24-year-old's excuse, Investigators found that recordings of the films had been uploaded on an unnamed online platform shortly after their release dates.
The Film Content Protection Agency (FCPA) found the films had been downloaded a total of 151,000 times, Liverpool ECHO reports, leading to significant losses in ticket sales, movie rights, and streaming revenue. Nicolaveci, from Walton, Liverpool, was identified as the source of the recordings and pleaded guilty to fraud and making for sale an article infringing copyright.
Prosecutor Ed Handley told Liverpool magistrates court on Wednesday: "Significant research conducted by reputable pollsters has found that 60% of people who illegally download material would have legitimately paid to see the films at the cinema." The FCPA representative stated that the losses incurred by cinemas, the film industry, streaming services and DVD sales due to the defendant's actions were "in excess" of £2.1million.
The court was informed that the defendant claimed he had only received around £200 for his efforts. Raj Chopra, for Nicolaveci, said that his client had agreed to send the recordings to a friend, 'Georgie', in Ukraine and acknowledged that he had made a "very silly mistake".
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Mr Chopra added: "His friend told him Covid is there, there is a war and we can't do anything. He asked for a couple of films. He didn't know, he's only a young man, only 24 years of age, he didn't realise what he was doing was illegal. He didn't ask for any money, but his friend did send him £200 as a gesture of goodwill to have a drink."
Chopra said that his client had no previous convictions and was supporting his elderly grandparents back in Ukraine. He warned that his criminal conviction could have serious repercussions, potentially preventing him from obtaining a British passport.
The case was briefly adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared. After interviewing the defendant, a probation officer informed the court that Nicolaveci, who arrived in the UK from Ukraine in 2016, was "presented as very embarrassed and ashamed" about now having a criminal record.
District Judge James Clarke noted that the defendant's lack of criminal convictions, expression of remorse and the fact his offending was not a sophisticated operation meant he could avoid imposing a prison sentence. Nicolaveci was given an 18-month community order with 300 hours of unpaid work. He was also fined £1,000, and ordered to pay £120 in prosecution costs and a £134 court surcharge.
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