TV & VIDEO - Jan. 7, 1988

It was hazardous duty to be a videocassette pirate in 1987: the Motion Picture Assn. of America announced a record number of pirates were caught last year, and film industry officials expect even tougher enforcement this year. There were 105 criminal and civil raids on alleged video pirates in 1987, an increase of 14% over the 92 raids the previous year, the MPAA said. However, Mark Kalmansohn, head of the association’s North American anti-piracy unit, noted the number of investigations had declined by 4% to 1,202 from 1,155, while the number of guilty pleas or convictions fell from 44 to 43.