__________________________________________Ask the DA
 

My neighbor recently began selling copies of movie DVD’s at very low prices.  She has the latest titles (some are still in movie theaters) and is constantly updating her collection. I’ve considered purchasing some of her DVD’s, but I’m afraid what she’s doing might be illegal. What do you think? 

The simple answer is that you should not purchase any of her DVD’s unless you are certain they were made legitimately for sale to the general public. Based on what you have reported, I think it is highly likely your neighbor is violating the law by selling “pirated” DVD’s. Therefore, you would be wise to avoid purchasing this material. 

“Piracy” is the taking, copying or use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright owner. In sum, it is theft of what another owns. Piracy can be committed in many ways, including unauthorized downloading of copyrighted material from the Internet or the making, sale and distribution of optical discs, such as DVD’s, which contain motion pictures that were copied without permission from the copyright owners.  

In New York, selling pirated media is a crime known as “trademark counterfeiting.” The police have been cracking down on trademark counterfeiting, especially in and around New York City, where, unfortunately, the practice has become commonplace.  

Some may think that trademark counterfeiting is a victimless crime, but that is simply not true. Every year America’s movie industry loses billions of dollars in revenue because of unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted material. And not only the wealthy copyright owners are affected by this criminal activity. The motion picture industry employs approximately 750,000 Americans whose incomes depend upon the revenues derived from lawful distribution of the movies they make. As revenues shrink, so do their chances of making a better living.  

In addition, consumers of pirated DVD’s are often victimized by the poor quality of the sound and images of the recordings they buy. This is not surprising since most pirated movies derive from recordings made by camcorder in theaters where the movies play.  

When buying motion picture DVD’s, consumers should be on the lookout for discs that might be counterfeit. If the movie has yet to be or was just released in theatres; if the price is extremely low; if the packaging and print work are of poor quality; if there is no original artwork; or if the logos of the studio, publisher and distributor are missing, the disc is probably not genuine.  

Further information is also available on my office’s Web site at www.brooklynda.org. To have your questions answered in a future column, send them to asktheda@brooklynda.org.