Five major manufacturers of computer games are ready to take strict measures against violators of copyright in Britain.
The companies Atari, Topware Interactive, Reality Pump, Techland and Codemasters (creators of such hits as The Lord of the Rings, a series of Colin McRae Rally and Operation Flashpoint) held a thorough investigation and found that more than six million Britons
are illegally downloading games from the net. This situation makes the games giants bear huge losses. Within two weeks since the release of Dream Pinball 3D only 800 copies of the product have been sold, while 12 000 users received the game for free.
The lawyers managed to prove the fact of law violation and take a Supreme Court warrant requiring Internet providers to hand names and
postal addresses of violators. Some time ago, about 25 000 users got notifications proposing to immediately pay the victim side 300 pounds, to avoid further proceedings. The law firm of
Davenport Lyons, representing the interests of games companies in court, is ready to prosecute more than 500 people, ignored this warning.
The first of several subsequent processes took place last week. The respondent was a housewife, Isabela Barwinska. The woman lost and was sentenced to pay 16 000 pounds.
