DVD anti-piracy campaign puts crime gangs in the frame

Links between DVD piracy and organised crime have been highlighted with the publication of new evidence, compiled by the Industry Trust for IP Awareness Limited, presented at the recent launch of a consumer awareness campaign held at the National Film Theatre in London.
The £1.5 million campaign, launched by television presenters Jonathan Ross and Lynn Faulds-Wood, aims to shatter the illusion of DVD pirates as harmless ‘Del Boy’ characters by highlighting the involvement of serious criminals, people traffickers and terrorist groups in the distribution of pirate DVDs.
This is the UK's biggest ever industry anti-piracy initiative and, for the first time, film distributors and retailers have come together to tackle the serious problem of DVD piracy.
The consumer campaign, which includes a new anti-piracy cinema trailer, kicks off on the same day as the UK premier of ‘Spider-Man 2’, the kind of blockbuster movie that is an immediate target for pirates. The Trust will make consumers aware that pirated copies of movies sold on the black market before the legal DVD release are invariably a rip-off.
Up to 90% of all pirate pre-release DVDs seized by FACT this year were copies of movies filmed with a camcorder from the back of the cinema.
Commenting on this at the launch, Jonathan Ross, Presenter of Film 2004, said: "Think of pirate DVDs as the worst sort of home cinema experience. Not the home cinema experience where you get Dolby surround sound and crystal clear images. No, the home cinema experience where someone gets up to go to the toilet halfway through and blocks out the screen. Where you can hear someone eating crisps. These things are terrible and what really bugs me is that people are duped into paying good money for these blatant rip-offs - and have you ever tried getting your money back from a dodgy geezer in a pub? Don't even think about it."
Anyone who is aware of the DVD pirate activity can report it anonymously by calling the campaign hotline 0845 6034567 or via the campaign website www.piracyisacrime.com
(GB)