A Melbourne mother who imported 52,000 counterfeit DVDs and Blu-ray discs has been warned she would have faced a jail sentence if she hadn't admitted her crimes.
Jessica-Lee Murphy, 26, of Carnegie, was fined $5,000 after pleading guilty to charges of possessing DVDs imported from China and selling them at a market stall she ran with her former partner.
Police raided the couple's house on September 11, 2014, where they found DVDs in the kitchen, living area, upstairs bedroom and storage area.
They also discovered plastic covers, ink jet printers and cartridges, classification stickers and advertising signs.
About 52,000 discs were seized from the East Brighton address.
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Of a sample of 782 that were analysed, all were found to be counterfeit.
The copies were poor quality, some appeared to have been recorded in cinemas.
In the Victorian County Court on Wednesday, Judge Susan Cohen said the operation caused copyright holders and distributors an estimated loss in excess of $683,000.
"Infringing copyright is a form of stealing," Judge Cohen told Murphy.
"The prosecutor described your home as a `workshop' for this activity and I agree."
Judge Cohen fined Murphy a total of $5000 for a charge of possessing material that infringes copyright and selling material that infringes copyright.
She told Murphy she would have sentenced her to 12 months jail if she had not entered a plea of guilty.
