The International Federation of the Phonographic Industries
(IFPI), which represents the record industry worldwide, warned that
manufacturers and sellers of pirate CDs were not their only
targets.
IFPI spokesman Ion Stamboulis told the BBC: "This is not a
symbolic measure. We are determined to prosecute the buyers and we
have the support of the authorities."
The IFPI is struggling to fight against the sale of counterfeit
CDs which, according to the group's Commercial Piracy Report 2003,
have more than doubled in the last three years and now generate an
illegal international business worth more than $4.5 billion.
The report found that within Western Europe, Spain, Italy and
Greece are most badly affected by music piracy, with illegal CDs
being sold openly on the streets. But authorities seem to be
cracking down.
According to the BBC, this is the first time that Greek
authorities have sent a purchaser to prison, although around 1,000
sellers have been prosecuted over the last two years.
