Copyright thieves, including those producing decoding technologies, are to face harsher sentences in the UK.

A Bill extending the maximum penalty for copyright theft from two years to 10 years, gained Royal Assent last Friday after its introduction in April.

It is set to become law in the autumn.

The Copyright, etc. and Trade Marks (Offences and Enforcement) Bill was introduced by Liberal Democrat MP and shadow Trade and Industry Spokesman, Dr Vincent Cable, and was well received by the Commons and the Lords.

The Bill increases the penalty for copyright theft from two years to 10 in cases where copyright holders have suffered serious damages, and will also apply to those producing decoding technologies.

The Bill also strengthens search warrant powers for the police to make it easier to expose counterfeit and bootlegging rings.

Finally, amendments to the law on forfeiture give all copyright investigations the same rights of service found within trademark legislation.

Cable said the Bill should "greatly reduce" the £8.5bn per year in losses suffered by the UK as a result of intellectual property theft.

In related news, the Federation Against Software Theft (Fast) said today that it had recovered £51,000 from an unnamed international company for illegal software use. Fast had been acting on behalf of Network Associates (NAI).

The company, which cannot be named for legal reasons, was illegally usingCybercop, one of NAI's core security products.

Julian Heathcote Hobbins, legal counsel for Fast, said: "I make no bones about it: using illegal software is simply not going to pay. It just is not worth the time, money and embarrassment of being caught.

"By the time we contacted the offending organisation we knew exactly whichPCs were running illegal programs. With this sort of information it amazes me why so many companies think they can get away with it," he said.