Piracy hotspot targeted with DVD amnesty

According to new research more people in the North East and Scotland (35%) have knowingly bought a pirate DVD than anywhere else in the UK.
Retailers and their suppliers are running a campaign to highlight the problem of DVD crime, and are now urging consumers in these areas not to be tempted.
A mobile DVD shredding lorry yesterday toured the North East and members of the public were encouraged to bring along their pirate discs to be shredded, with genuine DVD giveaways throughout the day. The amnesty reached Newcastle's Ridley Place and Middlesbrough's Cleveland Shopping Centre. Trading Standards groups from the area were on hand to remind consumers that DVD piracy is not a victimless crime. The amnesty will reach areas of Scotland next week.
The sale of pirate copies is known to support local crime as DVD pirates are often involved in other forms of criminality, including, drugs, pornography, benefit fraud and people smuggling and they often defend their territory through the use of offensive weapons. Behind many innocent-looking sellers, who sometimes use children to front their stalls, are organised criminal networks. As if that' s not bad enough, what seems like a bargain DVD may also turn out to be an inferior copy, shot with a camcorder from the back of a cinema.
According to IPSOS, sales of pirate DVDs are up 2% on 2005, with almost 78 million fakes sold last year. The latest figures show the total loss to the whole audio-visual industry through copyright theft is more than £719 million. Research from NOP has revealed that more than one in four consumers in the North East and Scotland (26%) would be willing to buy a pirate DVD if it was cheaper than the legitimate version and more than a third (35%) have knowingly bought one. Furthermore, a quarter of consumers in the North East don't realise that DVD piracy is a crime.
(GB)