FACT to continue the fight against piracy

Film piracy may have reached an all-time high last year, but those fighting the illegal copying of DVDs are warning that they will not be resting on their laurels in 2005.
Almost three million pirate DVDs were seized in 2004, making Britain’s black market in films second only to the US.
The investigative body of the UK film industry, the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), saw its seizure figures up by 47% compared with 2003.
Worryingly, DVD and other forms of piracy are sometimes seen as a harmless cottage industry, yet this crime type is increasing and largely linked to organised criminals operating on a global basis.
The unrelenting growth of the international nature of film piracy is reflected in the increase in seizures reported by FACT, in cooperation with HM Customs and Excise, which totalled approximately 1.7 million in 2004 compared to just 700,000 the previous year.
Emanating principally from Asia, the prolific nature of the Malaysian market as a producer of pirate DVDs in particular, has become ever more apparent. The total figure for Malaysian sourced imports has quadrupled, with over 850,000 being seized this year, seeing the inexorable spread of pressed optical discs throughout the UK.
Only eight months ago, FACT supported the contention that the influence of the Chinese networks was restricted to London and the home counties, yet new reports now show that seizures regularly occur throughout the country.
FACT’s Director General, Raymond Leinster, said one of the biggest problems facing his organisation is that DVD piracy is no longer just the domain of the common criminal.
He said: “We are increasingly seeing cases of individuals illegally downloading films off the internet in the privacy of their own homes, which they are then selling on to their family and friends.
“While these are simply entrepreneurial types with no real criminal intentions, the fact remains that we still need to make the public aware that this is an offence which can result in prosecution.
“In 2004, internet auction site investigations resulted in the removal of over 40,000 items and 70 infringing websites, and this is one of the areas into which we will be putting more resources in the forthcoming year.”
The volume of UK seizure statistics reflect the relatively risk free and lucrative nature of DVD piracy. Criminal gangs are well aware that DVD piracy has high returns and low risks; generating easy cash, which can be ploughed into other forms of criminality.
Leinster added: “There is increasing evidence that those behind the sale of illegal DVDs are involved in many other forms of crime – such as benefit fraud, exploitation of young persons, human trafficking and the supply of pornographic/paedophilic material.
”The sale of pirate DVDs is merely the most public of a multitude of other illegal and unsavoury activities, in which criminals are involved.”
(GB)