James Ball
Guardian.co.uk
July 2, 2012
A man has been convicted on conspiracy charges relating to his operation of surfthechannel.com, a website offering links to TV and video content.
Newcastle crown court heard Anton Vickerman’s site had up to 400,000 users a day and made about £35,000 a month in revenue. While UK prosecutors did not pursue a case on copyright offences, Vickerman was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud and faces sentencing next month.
The conviction increases pressure to halt plans to extradite Sheffield student Richard O’Dwyer to the US on copyright charges relating to a far smaller website. At its peak, O’Dwyer’s site reached about 300,000 users a month and was estimated by prosecutors to have taken approximately £147,000 in revenue over around three years.
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