Over 6,000 pirated DVDs seized

Sydney: On 29 October, Victoria Police raided a residential premises in Moe in rural eastern Victoria, shutting down a large-scale illegal movie piracy lab, seizing over 6,000 illegal movie DVDs and computer equipment.

 The Police raid of the Moe residence revealed 18 illegal DVD burners, five computers, seven printers and more than 6,000 pirated DVD movies, including illegal copies of “UP” and “The Proposal” which are currently being shown in Australian cinemas. The pirated DVDs were allegedly being sold locally for $5each. A 50-year-old male is assisting police with their inquiries.

Commenting on the operation, Neil Gane, Executive Director of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), said, “Movie piracy has become a highly-profitable racket for criminals, however, they are seriously deluding themselves if they think they can escape the law. The excellent work by the Latrobe local area command of the Victorian Police has today stopped this criminal operation in its tracks, and the suspected movie pirate will be held accountable for his actions. Movie piracy is not a victimless crime: It threaten community cinemas and DVD stores and the livelihoods of many Australians.”

Penalties for copyright crimes are up to $60,500 and/or 5 years jail per offence.

About AFACT

 In 2008, state and federal police conducted 51 raids involving movie piracy and seized 544,697 pirated DVDs. They also seized 488 burners capable of producing 12 million pirated DVDs a year with a potential street value of over $61million.

 AFACT works closely with industry, government, police and educational institutions to address copyright theft and protect the interests of the film and television industry as well as the interests of Australian movie fans.

Australia’s copyright industries are the 3rd largest contributors as a percentage of GDP in the world, second only to the US and UK.

In 2006/07 they contributed 10.3% GDP to Australia’s economy [up 66% since 1996], represented 8% of our employment and generated 4.1% of total exports.

The film and TV industry in Australia alone contributed $4.4 billion to GDP and supports 50,000 jobs, including small businesses under threat from movie and TV piracy, and independent cinemas, video rental stores and film and television producers across the country.

In 2007, the film and TV sector contributed an estimated $1.8 billion in tax to the Australian Government.

Australian judge jails music and movie pirate

Courts take copyright piracy seriously

SYDNEY – On the 21 August, Sydney’s District Court recorded criminal convictions and handed a three month jail term to the owner and operator of an Australian commercial piracy operation.

On the 21 August, Sydney’s District Court recorded criminal convictions and handed a three month jail term to the owner and operator of an Australian commercial piracy operation.

On 21 May 2009 a jury found Yong Hong LIN guilty of 15 indictable copyright offences following a three week trial and more than 12 hours of deliberation. The criminal charges were the first to proceed on indictment in the District Court since amendments to the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) in 2007.

54 year old LIN owned and operated an Eastwood music and movie store raided by New South Wales Police on 27 February 2007. The raid followed an extensive investigation by investigators from the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) and Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI).

The police raid netted more than 16,000 pirated movie and music discs being openly offered for sale to the public. The haul included discs imported into Australia from illegal manufacturing plants in China as well as illegally burnt discs produced locally. The illegal discs from China were purchased wholesale by LIN for 50 cents and sold for $7.

Before handing down the sentence Judge Knox commented: “I do not think that a fine or a community service order is appropriate in terms of being a deterrent sentence… the proper penalty… is one of a period of imprisonment.”

The jail term given by Judge Knox is the second such custodial sentence handed out to pirates in the last ten days. On Friday 14th August, a South Australian court sentenced Brian Rutherford to a seven month (suspended) jail term following an Australian Federal Police raid in March this year.

The indictable charges brought against Mr LIN by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions led to a dramatic three week trial, which saw music and movie industry experts give evidence about counterfeit discs manufactured in China and illegally imported into Australia to the detriment of the local movie and music industry.

“The movie and TV industries make a significant contribution to Australian jobs and our economy and need the protection of strong laws, effective enforcement and deterrent sentencing,” said Neil Gane, Executive Director of AFACT, commenting on the conviction. “We are at a tipping point and jail terms are without doubt the only way the courts can provide the strong deterrence needed to stop such profitable and damaging crimes.”

“The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and the courts have sent a strong message: that criminals who steal music for commercial gain will find themselves facing serious charges and may ultimately end up in jail,” said Dean Mitchell, Investigations Manager, MIPI.

LIN was charged with 31 offences relating to copyright theft; the jury convicted on 15 offences and acquitted on the remainder.

Criminal penalties for copyright infringement are up to $60,500 and 5 years imprisonment per offence for individuals, and up to $302,500 for corporations.

Movie piracy should be reported to the AFACT hotline: 1800 25 19 96

Music piracy should be reported to the MIPI hotline: 1800 06 16 16

About AFACT

AFACT works closely with industry, government, police and educational institutions to address copyright theft and protect the interests of the film and television industry as well as the interests of Australian movie fans.

Australia’s copyright industries are the 3rd largest contributors as a percentage of GDP in the world, second only to the US and UK.

In 2006/07 they contributed 10.3% GDP to Australia’s economy [up 66% since 1996], represented 8% of our employment and generated 4.1% of total exports.

The film and TV industry in Australia alone contributed $4.4 billion to GDP and supports 50,000 jobs, including small businesses under threat from copyright theft, and independent cinemas, video rental stores and film and television producers across the country.

In 2007, the film and TV sector contributed an estimated $1.8 billion in tax to the Australian Government.

In 2008, state and federal police conducted 51 raids involving movie piracy and seized 544,697 pirated DVDs. They also seized 488 burners capable of producing 12 million pirated DVDs a year with a potential street value of over $61million.

Contact:

For interviews with Neil Gane, AFACT, contact:

Stephen Jenner: (02) 9997 8011
After hours: 0409 776 196

info@afact.com.au
www.afact.com.au

About MIPI

Music Industry Piracy Investigations Pty Ltd (www.mipi.com.au) is the anti-piracy organisation for the Australian music industry. MIPI represents close to 125 music labels through their association, ARIA and over 2,000 music publishers and songwriters through their association, AMCOS.

MIPI operates a toll-free piracy hotline on 1800 06 16 16 and a report piracy form that can be accessed at http://www.mipi.com.au/Report-Piracy.html.

Contact:

For interviews with Dean Mitchell, MIPI, contact:

Samantha Hales: (02) 8569 1177
After hours: 0466 362 374

mipi@mipi.com.au
www.mipi.com.au

Pirate music, movies, video games and counterfeit products seized from popular Sydney market in continuing crackdown on rogue traders.

SYDNEY – NSW Police, assisted by investigators from the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI), Trade Mark Investigation Services (TMIS) and the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA) raided the Preston ‘Trash & Treasure Market’ in southwest Sydney today. 

The police haul included thousands of pirate discs together with boxes of counterfeit products. 

The successful raid follows active surveillance of targeted markets around Australia by police and industry investigators. On 9 November 2008, Victoria Police seized more than 10,000 pirate movies, music and video games and arrested two men in the crackdown on pirate and counterfeit goods at Victoria’s largest market Caribbean Gardens and Markets. Police also seized a quantity of cash. 

AFACT’s Director of Operations Neil Gane, said: “This is a significant raid conducted by the NSW Police and reinforces the key message that the authorities will not tolerate such criminal activity. 

“DVD piracy is not a victimless crime. These traders are ripping off the hard work of others for maximum profit, and illegal operations such as these put at risk the legitimate community businesses such as local cinemas and DVD stores. Kudos to the NSW Police for this successful operation.

 “Whenever someone creates and sells an illegitimate copy of a movie or television show, they are stealing money from the many thousands of Australians who work hard to give us these films and programs to enjoy. We congratulate the State Police for continuing to defend the jobs of the victims of these crimes.”

“As more Australians head to markets looking for good deals this Christmas, they  need to be wary of ‘too good to be true’ offers on dodgy CDs and other entertainment products to avoid being ripped off,” said Dean Mitchell, Investigations Manager of MIPI. “If a CD has an excessive number of tracks, spelling mistakes, distorted graphics, or has a blue, green or gold CD backing – there’s a good chance you are getting duped by a counterfeiter.” 

Criminal penalties for copyright infringement are up to $60,500 and/or five years imprisonment per offence for individuals, and fines of up to $302,500 for corporations. Police can also issues on-the-spot fines of $1320. 

To help police identify and shut down movie and music piracy operations, members of the public are invited to report suspected piracy to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. For help in identifying pirated discs, the public can view or download the relevant consumer guides from www.afact.com.au and www.mipi.com.au. 

For interviews with Neil Gane, AFACT, contact: 

Dave Harding: (02) 9997 8011

After hours: 0431 858 502

For interviews with Dean Mitchell, MIPI, contact: 

Samantha Hales: (02) 8569 1177

After hours: 0439 605 765

About AFACT

AFACT acts on behalf of the 50,000 Australians directly impacted by copyright theft including independent cinemas, video rental stores and film and television producers across the country. AFACT works closely with industry, government, police and educationalinstitutions to address copyright theft, and to protect the interests of the film and television industry. 

In the 12 month period from October 2007 to October 2008, AFACT assisted state and federal police on enforcement actions involving film piracy which resulted in the seizure of 969,514 pirated DVDs and 761 burners capable of producing over 19 million pirated DVDs a year with a potential street value of over $95 million. 

AFACT operates an anti-piracy hotline: 1800 251 996.

info@afact.com.au

www.afact.com.au

About MIPI

Music Industry Piracy Investigations Pty Ltd is the anti-piracy organisation for the Australian music industry. MIPI represents close to125 music labels through their association, ARIA and over 1,700 music publishers and songwriters through their association, AMCOS. 

MIPI operates a free-call anti-piracy hotline at 1800 06 16 16.

 mipi@mipi.com.au

www.mipi.com.au

ENDS

MELBOURNE – Victorian Police have today raided market traders blatantly selling illegal music and movies at one of Victoria’s largest markets, the Caribbean Garden Markets in Scoresby.  The police operation, assisted by industry anti-piracy groups, seized more than 10,000 optical discs containing pirated music, movies and games.  

It is alleged that a number of market traders were selling thousands of burnt optical products containing music, movies and games every trading day in the Caribbean Market, which operates Wednesdays and Sundays, with some traders inviting customers to put in orders for pirated titles to be collected on subsequent market days. 

 The successful raid follows active surveillance of targeted markets around Australia by a number of anti-piracy groups, including Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI), the Australian Federal Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) and the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA).  Despite attempts by industry groups to work with market operators, traders continue to openly offer illegally copied CDs, DVDs and games for sale to the public, putting the market operators at risk of liability for authorising piracy.  This flagrant disregard for the law has prompted law enforcement agencies around Australia to raid the markets to bring an end to these illegal operations.

 Amongst the haul of 10,000 pirate discs were illegal copies of albums by Mariah Carey and Chris Brown,popular movies Babylon and Burn After Reading and video games Mario Collection and NBA Live. 

Dean Mitchell, Investigations Manager of MIPI, said: “Market operators have a significant role to play in ensuring that pirate music is not sold through their markets. They must be vigilant and take a proactive stance against illegal traders. Whilst industry groups have repeatedly demonstrated that they are prepared to work with market operators, today’s police raid confirms that criminal action will be taken at markets that do not heed the warnings”. 

Neil Gane, AFACT Director of Operations, said: “Every pirated movie or TV show sold at the Caribbean Market steals money from the legitimate businesses that employ the tens of thousands of Australians directly impacted by movie piracy.  They are the victims of this crime.” 

Ron Curry, IEAA CEO, said, “The IEAA takes the protection of intellectual property very seriously. It’s vitalthat we defend our industry so it can continue to deliver high quality, creative interactive entertainment. Copyright theft is against the law and we applaud the police for their successful operation at the Caribbean Garden Markets in Scoresby.” 

Criminal penalties for copyright infringement are up to $60,500 and five years imprisonment per offence for individuals, and up to $302,500 for corporations.  Police can also issues on-the-spot fines of $1320.  Market sellers have been fined up to $22,000 for selling pirate CDs and DVDs at the Flemington Markets in Sydney. 

Members of the public can help police identify and shut down music and movie piracy operations by reporting piracy at www.mipi.com.au or www.moviepiracy.org.au.  Consumer guides to help members of the public identify whether or not DVD or CDs are pirated are available to view and download from www.mipi.com.au and www.afact.com.au.

For interviews with Dean Mitchell, MIPI contact:

 Samantha Hales – (02) 8569 1177

After hours:  0439 605 765 

 About MIPI

 Music Industry Piracy Investigations Pty Ltd (www.mipi.com.au) is the anti-piracy organisation for the Australian music industry. MIPI represents close to 125 music labels through their association, ARIA and over 1,700 music publishers and songwriters through their association, AMCOS.  MIPI operates a free-call anti-piracy hotline at 1800 06 16 16. 

For interviews with Neil Gane, AFACT contact:

 Stephen Jenner- (02) 9997 8011                      

After hours – 0409 776 196                                                                                                                                         

About AFACT

 AFACT works closely with industry, government, police and educational institutions to address copyright theft and protect the interests of the movie and television industry as well as the interests of Australian movie fans.

 Between June 2007 to June 2008, state and federal police conducted 67 raids involving movie piracy and seized over 934,000 pirated DVDs. They also seized 762 burners capable of producing over 19 million pirated DVDs a year.

 AFACT acts on behalf of the 50,000 Australians directly impacted by copyright theft including independent cinemas, video rental stores and movie and television producers across the country. AFACT has its own anti-piracy hotline: 1800 251 996.

 info@afact.com.au

www.afact.com.au

For interviews with Ron Curry, IEAA contact:

Corrie McLeod, Espresso Communications – 0419 526 848

www.ieaa.com.au