Pirated DVD's

There are not many private companies that get to work hand-in-hand with law enforcement. The Motion Picture Association of America, or MPAA, is one of those companies. I have been trained and certified an expert by the MPAA in the recognition and recovery of pirated DVD's (my wife also happened to be in the DVD industry for fifteen years). According to MPAA.ORG: Working with law enforcement around the world, the MPAA seized over 81 million illegal optical discs in 2005, and According to a study conducted by LEK Consulting LLC, MPAA companies lost approximately $3.8 billion worldwide to physical piracy in 2005. These are huge numbers! I know that our department, along with other units popping up around the country, are tackling the problem head-on.

Here is how you can identify a pirated DVD. First, if you just happen to be shopping downtown and you see a nice man selling DVD's on the street corner; DVD's that haven't come out in Blockbuster yet, or movies that just got into the theatre, congratulations, you're about to purchase a pirated DVD. I have held master copies of DVD's before through my wife's affiliation with the industry. There are not many masters, but if one gets into the wrong hands, they can be reproduced at alarming rates. They are also one of the only ways that you will get a decent pirated DVD. But at what cost??? You might pay $5 for it on the corner, but image that the costs will come from somewhere else; movie ticket prices (OK, those are already high), DVD sales, or the food at the concession stands, etc.

Another easy way is to look at the case. The cellophane packaging should be tight and neatly wrapped. Most pirated DVD's will look like your third grader put the packaging on. The front cover should have crisp lettering and pictures. Usually, the picture on the cover will be similar to the front of the DVD itself. On the back of the DVD cases, a small picture of the world will appear, the initials NTSC (National Television System Committee) below the world. There should be a number 1 in the center of the world. If the number 2 or ALL appear, this is a pirated DVD. Number 1 is the only DVD used in North America.

On the DVD itself. If the back of the DVD is blue or any other color besides clear, it is a pirated DVD. If it is any other color, it is a DVD-R (re-writeable). In the center of the DVD, by the opening, you will see various numbers (Stamper Numbers). These numbers are to identify the origin of the DVD. On a pirated DVD, these numbers are usually erased (it is visible to the naked eye).

If you watch the video and it seems like you're in the movie theatre, and then you see somebody's head blocking your view, and then you hear somebody coughing, your DVD is pirated. Also, the quality of the DVD is poor and grainy (this is from the original copy that they are working with is deteriorating).

My wife and I purchased a DVD from a reputable source (we have purchased hundreds of items in the past from this on-line source). This was a DVD that is not currently being produced by the company. We also paid about five times what you would expect to pay since it is out of circulation. When we got the DVD, we immediately recognized it as pirated. All of the above factors were involved, and blatantly. We immediately dealt with the Internet Company who refunded the money and we sent the item to the MPAA for review and a possible investigation. The person who actually sold the item to the Internet company became angry with us for identifying the pirated DVD.

The laws in California are progressive and include steep prison sentences as well as substantial restitution out of your pockets. There are also private investigation agencies working for the MPAA who will go after DVD's, and other pirated merchandise as well. They conduct very thorough investigations (I will, of course, not go into how they conduct their investigations), but they not only come out with arrests, but convictions.

According to www.allbusiness.com, in 2006, Rhode Island Stated Police, in conjunction with the FBI and ICE, raided two locations where the manufacturing and distribution of DVD's were taking place. Over 3,000 pirated DVD's were seized, as well as computer and other equipment used to illegally duplicate the DVD's. Two persons were arrested as well.

In another article by www.zeropaid.com, the MPAA, working with the Malaysian Government, arrested 9 persons and recovered over 30,000 pirated DVD's.

Pirated DVD's have some roots in organized crime and even street gangs. There was some turf wars with Los Angeles street gangs over the locations where they would sell their pirated DVD's. This is an international problem, and like any other illegal area, if you buy them, they will continue to make them. The moral to the story is: Don't buy or sell pirated DVD's, or any other pirated merchandise.