Intellectual Property Law

MPAA Teaches How to Detect and Report Bogus DVDs

By David Kravets

The movie studios and the police want your help in combating DVD piracy in the Los Angeles Fashion District, where the authorities say disc-ripping and disc-pushing gangs are flourishing at Hollywood’s and the public’s expense.

Rewards of $1,000 are awaiting successful tipsters who fink on these sidewalk movie dealers, who are undermining legitimate DVD sales, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

To save police resources and prevent false alarms, the MPAA has provided a briefing on how to detect unauthorized DVDs.

For those who can’t figure out that new-release DVDs sold out of the back of a Chevy Astro van for $5 a pop aren’t legit, here’s the studios’ word-for-word guidelines:

*Watch for titles that are “Too New to be True.”
Movies that have yet to be released in theaters, or that are still out in theaters, are not legally available to consumers. If very recent titles are being sold, they are almost invariably illegal copies.

*Trust Your Eyes and Ears.
In many cases, the quality of illegal copies is inferior with poor sound and the movie can appear blurry or shaky. (Threat Level disclaimer: We are unable to advise whether to seek a refund after you watched the bogus movie and then alert the authorities, or vice versa.)

*Other telltale signs:
Loose cellophane packaging, poorly reproduced labeling, lack of holographic labeling, cut-rate pricing, or sales made from street vendors out of a box or a backpack on the sidewalk. (Threat Level urges caution when scoring $1 DVDs from a man named Redbox.)

The Los Angeles Police Department said that area gangs are profiting from counterfeit DVDs, which helps fund their other criminal enterprises.

“Stopping this criminal activity goes much deeper than just DVDs. We know that gangs are reaping the most benefit from this activity,” Blake Chow, an LAPD captain, said in a statement.

Kevin Suh, a Motion Picture Association of America vice president of content protection, said the studios need the public’s assistance.

“We encourage those with information to come forward, and also urge shoppers to help us in this effort by settling for nothing less than the genuine, high-quality movies available in a variety of legitimate ways both online and from their favorite retailers,” he said in a statement.

The LAPD?s 24-hour confidential hotline is 1-877-527-3247. Tipsters may also text “crimes,” with messages beginning “LAPD.”

Photo: dj drue/Flickr

See Also:

• Inside the Motion Picture Industry’s Cuddliest Anti-Piracy Operation
• Android App Scans DVD Bar Codes, Starts BitTorrent Download
• Los Angeles Says Piracy ‘Detrimental to Public Health, Safety’
• RealNetworks: MPAA Is 'Price-Fixing Cartel'
• Judge’s Top-Secret Decision Blocks Sale of DVD-Copying Software
• DVD Copying Case Focuses on ‘Fair Use’
• Imagine RIAA, MPAA in Control of Handbag Industry

Full post as published by Threat Level on December 03, 2009 (boomark / email).