Saturday November 8 2008
DESTRUCTION DAY FOR PIRATED DVDs
The Minister for Home Affairs Bob Debus and NSW Minister for Fair Trading Virginia Judge will today oversee the destruction of more than 230,000 pirated DVDs, as well as computer equipment and burners, which are used in the manufacture of pirated DVDs.
“In the past 12 months State and Federal Police have seized more than a million illegal DVDs. While many people view this as a less serious crime, police intelligence shows that criminals use movie piracy to fund a range of criminal activity like drug trafficking and money laundering.
“Those issues are worth considering by any member of the public who thinks purchasing counterfeit DVDs is a victimless crime. In copyright offending alone revenue loss to industry groups in Australia is estimated to be around $1.7 billion each year.”
The illegal DVDs will be crushed under supervision and were seized during anti-piracy operations across New South Wales which were conducted by State and Federal Police.
NSW Minister for Fair Trading Virginia Judge congratulated the NSW and Federal agencies on their efforts.
“I don’t want consumers to be burnt by pirated DVDs,” Ms Judge said.
“If you don’t buy DVDs from a reputable trader, you don’t know what you’re getting. There are no quality controls, no refunds and you could wreck expensive home entertainment systems,” she said.
Mr Debus said maintaining a strong Intellectual Property (IP) enforcement system was required under current international treaties and would be crucial for future trade and investment in the Australian economy.
“The AFP hosts a quarterly Intellectual Property Enforcement Consultative Group meeting which brings together a range of Commonwealth agencies and industry groups to discuss emerging issues and current investigations.
“The Government would like to encourage all police jurisdictions to attend this forum and it’s an issue I raised at this week’s Police Minister’s meeting in Sydney.
“This is a crime that’s on the increase and if we work together to take appropriate action its attractiveness will be reduced,” Mr Debus said.
In the 12 month period from October 2007 to October 2008, the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft assisted State and Federal police on enforcement actions which resulted in the seizure of 967,500 pirated DVDs and 741 burners capable of producing over 18 million pirated DVDs a year.
Media Contact: Samantha Wills 0448 721 372