A clothing wholesale company was fined RM300,000, in default eights months jail, by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today for possession of 150 infringing copies of the 'Upin & Ipin' cartoon characters without the permission of Les' Copaque Production Sdn Bhd.

Judge Hasbi Hasan handed down the sentence on Fook Tai Sdn Bhd after its director Yap Kien Sing, 49, admitted to possessing the images of the cartoon characters which were printed on T-shirts without the permission of the animation company.

The offence, under Section 41(1)(d) of the Copyright Act 1987, was committed at No. 17C and 19C, Lorong Haji Taib 4, Jalan Raja Laut, Dang Wangi, Kuala Lumpur at 5.30pm on May 22, 2009.

Earlier, lawyer Harjinder Singh Sandhu, who represented Fook Tai Sdn Bhd, said it was his client's first offence and requested for a lighter sentence.

However, deputy public prosecutor Nurul Ain Hamzah said the case involved public interest and intellectual property.

Prior to handing down the sentence, Hasbi advised Yap to be careful next time to avoid committing the same mistake.

"Don't take advantage because an intellectual property case involves public interests and the country," she added.

Fook Tai Sdn Bhd paid the fine.

- Bernama