MPAA Cracks Down as Video Piracy Spreads

That tape you rented with the blurred images and washed-out colors might not have been a defective tape or one that was worn out from being rented so often.

It just might have been a pirate cassette--one that was illegally duplicated.

Pirated tapes are more prevalent than you might think. According to Mark Harrad, spokesman for the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which has an active anti-piracy program, about 5-10% of all the tapes on the American market are pirate copies.

“The quality of a pirated tape is never as good as the original,” he said. “But some copies are good enough to fool consumers. Our investigators can spot them. If they’re good copies that are hard to spot with the naked eye, we can still spot them electronically. But the consumer can tell a pirated copy because the color is washed out or the images aren’t very sharp or the printing that appears on the screen is fuzzy.

“Sometimes the pirates tape over copies of other movies rather than using a fresh blank tape. So when the movie you’re watching is over, you might find the end of another movie.”

Defective packaging, Harrad explained, is probably the best way to spot a bogus tape. “Pirates don’t spend a lot of money on fancy packages. If they get into counterfeit packaging, it costs too much. You may get a package that looks like a crummy four-color Xerox, or you may get just a black-and-white box. Some are very sophisticated, but they’re missing certain emblems or stamps. Or maybe the sticker on the cassette housing is home-made and looks it.”

Also, legitimate cassettes usually don’t bear a brand name, but you’re likely to find one on the blank cassettes used by pirates.

Making a pirate cassettes, Harrad said, is very easy: “All you need is two VCRs, a master tape and a blank tape. That’s why it’s so attractive to these crooked operators.”

The violators, Harrad said, are often retailers who are making copies using two VCRs. But some pirate operations are fairly sophisticated, involving elaborate duplicating equipment and salesmen to distribute the pirated product.

Pirates are in violation of the federal copyright law, which forbids illegal duplication. Copyright owners may initiate civil or criminal action leading to fines of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.

The MPAA’s anti-pirate operation resulted in 105 raids last year. (Last week federal marshals raided two stores in Orange County and three in the Los Angeles area.) According Harrad, the MPAA, which has 75 investigators, received about 1,200 complaints for each of the last two years. In 15-20% of those cases, there’s enough evidence for legal action.

Nearly all the violations in this country involve illegal duplication of tapes already on the market. But in foreign countries there is a problem of pirated tapes of movies not yet available on cassette--like “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial,” for instance.

Harrad noted: “Because of pirated copies on the international market, ‘E.T.’ is probably the most popular videocassette of all time--and it hasn’t even been officially released yet.” (It’s due out this fall on MCA Home Video).

Most complaints that reach the MPAA are filed by other retailers--not consumers. “The retailers are on the front line,” Harrad said. “They know when their competitors are involved in piracy. Pirate operations are hard to compete against. If a customer comes in for a tape that’s out, the pirate doesn’t have to order more copies or wait until rented copies are returned. The pirate just makes his own. Piracy increases the profit margin. Since it’s hard for legitimate retailers to compete against pirates, they’ll blow the whistle on pirates whenever they can.

“The consumer who rents a pirated tape is out a few bucks,” Harrad said. “He’s not as likely to complain. But people who actually buy a tape that’s bogus are more likely to complain. But the home-video business is dominated by rentals--not sales. There are fewer complaints from consumers because not that many buy tapes.”

Though you may not have rented or purchased an illegally-made tape, piracy still affects you, Harrad said.

“Legitimate retailers may raise their prices to make more money to make up for what they lose to pirate operations,” Harrad said. “The video companies raise their wholesale prices to make up for losses to pirates. This is passed on the consumer. As usual, the consumer gets burned in the end.”

Consumers who have a complaint about suspected piracy can call a general hot line number that has been in operation since early April. The toll-free number is: (800) NO-COPYS.