In one of the first case of its kind in the UK a woman has been delivered the financial smackdown for illegally sharing videogames online. Law firm Davenport Lyon, the prosecutors in the case, have announced that the woman who has not been named was found in a national sweep of those pirating films and games. The game that this criminal mastermind was caught pirating to the masses? Dream Pinball 3D from Topware Interactive. The woman has been ordered to pay damages of £6,086.56 along with costs of £10,000 to the developer.

This case sets a strong legal precedent that may pave the way to future prosecutions. It also serves as a reminder that it isn’t just big conglomerates who are affected by the detriments of piracy, but smaller developers too (an important point to remember). In fact, it is smaller developers who are more likely to feel the strain of piracy and this ruling could give more of them the confidence to defend their intellectual property.