THE former owners of a Patchway-based computer business have each been fined a total of £1,500 for their involvement in selling counterfeit software.

Alan Warren and Kevin Wall were also both ordered to pay £2,100 in prosecution costs after admitting selling the fake items and possessing a computer that was on sale and loaded with counterfeit software.

Warren, 53, and Wall, 36, appeared before Bristol Crown Court yesterday charged with offences under the Trade Marks Act as a result of a prosecution brought by South Gloucestershire Council's trading standards team.

They pleaded guilty to five offences and were ordered to pay their fines within six months or face a sentence of 45 days in prison.

The council originally investigated the pair, who ran AKW Computers in Rodway Road, Patchway, following a tip-off during 2006 that they were involved in selling illegally copied software and supplying computers pre-loaded with such software.

A representative of the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) carried out a test purchase, buying an illegal copy of Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition for £40.

Trading standards officers then raided the shop in November 2006, along with representatives of ELSPA and Microsoft, and seized 123 copied software, film and games discs from offices on the premises.

They also found a computer base unit, which was on display in the shop with a price tag of £280.

Forensic examination of the computer revealed it was loaded with illegal copies of software programmes, such as Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Office Word.

It was claimed in court that AKW sold mainly legitimate products and that Warren had been naive in business by selling a small quantity of illegally copied products.

But Judge David Ticehurst said piracy was rife and both Warren and Wall had "chanced their arm" in getting involved in the activity.

The council said AKW Computers still traded but it was understood that Warren and Wall were no longer involved in the business.

Neil Derrick, South Gloucestershire's senior enforcement officer, said: "This was an unusual case in that the defendants ran a legitimate business that seemed to occasionally sell illegitimate products."

"We had intelligence from various sources to suggest that Warren and Wall were engaging in this type of activity and took decisive action to prevent them from continuing and to protect other businesses that trade legally in this type of product.

"This may have been a small-scale operation, but we have no way of establishing just how long this type of illegal activity had been going on."