A Columbus man has been charged with unauthorized copying or sale of recordings.
Jonathan Keith Spencer, 52, of 303 Taylor St., was arrested on March 9 by deputies with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. As part of an investigation into several burglaries, deputies searched Spencer’s home and found thousands of copies of videos and video equipment. Spencer has not been charged in any other cases; his bond was set at $7,500, with a court date yet to be set.
Lowndes County Sheriff Mike Arledge said he hasn’t seen many cases involving non-copyrighted or “bootleg” items, but Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen said it’s a growing problem in other parts of the country.
“We haven’t experienced a lot of it, but that’s not to say it doesn’t exist,” McQueen said. “This is not isolated to DVDs and CDs, it also encompasses fake purses and other bootleg clothing items. It is real widespread in places like Atlanta.
“The attorney general’s office has a division to deal with this,” McQueen added. “They came down and trained our officers. If we see someone selling items or peddling goods, we immediately approach them to make sure they have the appropriate licenses and permits (and) this normally rules out a lot of illegal activity. It is illegal to sell something that is copyrighted. If someone is caught, the proper procedures will be implemented immediately and the suspect will go to jail.”
Columbus Building Official Kenny Wiegel said anyone selling items on commercial property should be properly licensed.
“People selling goods in Columbus are supposed to have a business license or a peddler’s license,” he said. “A peddler’s license, which allows someone to sell door-to-door, can only be obtained after a background check has been done through the police department. If (McQueen) signs off on the background check, I will issue the license. If you are selling on commercial property in the city limits, you have to have the owner’s permission and a business license.”
Unauthorized copying or sale of recordings is a felony charge, carrying a maximum sentence of five years in jail and potentially a fine not exceeding $25,000. A second-offense conviction has a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail, with a potential fine not to exceed $1,000,000, confirmed officials with the district attorney’s office.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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