Trader put his own face on dodgy CD packaging

A bungling couple convicted of selling almost 600 pirated CDs at a market tried to claim the discs were not theirs. An excuse which might just have worked, apart from the fact that one of their faces was on the packaging. Husband and wife Dennis Davis, 40, and 34-year-old Kerry Ann Graham 34 of South Norwood, south London, were also caught selling fake Nike trainers by Surrey County Council trading standards officers.

The crooks were each found guilty of charges under trade mark and copyright laws at Staines Magistrates' Court after previously pleading not guilty. They were each fined £450 and ordered to pay £450 costs.



In court the couple claimed the CDs were not theirs but this defence fell apart when it was pointed out that some of the packaging featured a picture of Davis as part of his company brand. They then claimed they were giving the CDs away for free but this did not wash with the court either.

Lucy Corrie, from Surrey County Council trading standards, said: "This couple aren't quite Bonnie and Clyde and it probably wasn't the smartest move by Dennis to put a picture of himself on the illegal items he was selling. Trading in counterfeit trainers and pirated CDs may on the surface seem like a victimless crime but it certainly isn't. The products are usually poor quality rips offs which take business away from legitimate Surrey firms in these difficult financial times."