Among the changes that the groups request is one which would put
an ID number on every CD or DVD which would allow the source of
pirated discs to be traced.
The creative sector says it is witnessing a convergence of
internet piracy and physical piracy, fuelled by the falling cost of
disc duplication technology.
Dara MacGreevy, Vice President of the Motion Picture Association
commented on Thursday:
"Pirates are using the internet to download
illegal copies of movies and then burning them onto CD-ROMs or DVD
Recordables. Just last week, our anti-piracy programme in the UK,
working with local enforcement authorities, raided a major pirate
DVD-R factory that was making copies of 'Spider Man' and 'Star
Wars: Episode II' that had been downloaded from the internet. Over
10,000 discs and 31 DVD burners were seized in the raid."
Representatives of the European film, video, music, business and
interactive leisure software sectors jointly called for the EU
Enforcement Directive to include the following:
- Genuinely deterrent penalties and damages, so that pirates can
no longer write off damages as a small operational cost;
- Reasonable presumption of copyright ownership to avoid delays
in court proceedings that in some cases allow pirates to escape
justice;
- Seize and preserve evidence of piracy to make available
effective provisional measures allowing seizure and preservation of
evidence before criminals can destroy it;
- Right of information about manufacture and distribution so that
the original manufacturer or distributor of the infringing goods
can be identified; and
- Compulsory Source identification codes (SID) so that the source
of manufacture of over 100 million of pirated discs manufactured in
Europe every year can be tracked down.
The Home Office of the UK Government last week announced a
project based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.
CDs, laptop computers and consignments of clothing will be fitted
with RFID tracking technology as part of a trial aimed at
combatting the trade in stolen and counterfeit goods.
Woolworths, Dell, and EMI working with Asda are among the firms
taking part in the initiative. The tags will carry information on
origin, current location and final retail destination.
