Raymond Leinster is Director General of the Federation Against Copyright Theft

(FACT), a trade body established in 1983 to protect the film and broadcasting
industry against copyright infringements in the United Kingdom. Although not a
statutory authority or public body, FACT operates as a private company within the
spirit of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, and the Data Protection Act
1984 and 1998.

Threat to DVD pirates goes state-of-the-art

It is a well-documented fact that the trade in pirate DVDs has reached almost
epidemic levels in the UK. Counterfeit DVDs are sold everywhere from ice cream
vans through to barber’s shops and under the counter in pubs and clubs. No longer
the sole province of the dodgy bloke at the car boot sale; they are also readily
available from the most harmless of sources, be it the ubiquitous “man in the pub” or
office workers. This accessibility to counterfeit goods however can cloud our
perception of DVD piracy. Whilst it may be true to say that your colleague at work is
not involved in organised crime, many people involved in the sale of counterfeit
DVDs are.

DVD piracy is not the harmless cottage industry it is often perceived to be; it is a
crime type that is largely linked to organised criminals operating on a global basis. In
a bid to take on the pirates, we have ‘upped the ante’ by improving our diagnostic
competence and forensic capabilities by installing cutting edge analytical software.

The i2 technology, which is used worldwide by law enforcement and commercial

organisations, will facilitate the targeting of prolific individuals and networks
sustaining the importation, manufacture and distribution of illicit film product.

With organised criminals at the root of much counterfeit activity, it is imperative to

understand how their networks operate and how they fund themselves. The software
will allow us to examine significant patterns and trends, highlighting areas of prolific
DVD piracy in order to explore the underlying causes and identify suspects.

Applying a more investigative and analytical approach will also aid FACT in adopting
the National Intelligence Model, enhancing our engagement with the law enforcement
community.
We currently work actively in cooperation with HM Customs & Excise, the Police,
Trading Standards Offices and the Department for Work and Pensions, providing
expert technical examination services for evidential purposes and the gathering of
evidence to justify enforcement action or prosecution by the relevant authority.

Implementing the National Intelligence Model will allow us to not only provide
integrated intelligence but to also improve incorporation with our partner enforcement
bodies.

The unrelenting growth of film piracy is supported by last years’ seizures, which
reached close to the 3 million mark, a 47 per cent increase on the 2003 figures. This
now makes Britain the world’s black market film capital after the US, and moreover,
1.7 million of those DVDs were seized in cooperation with HM Customs and Excise,
a figure that reflects the growth of the international nature of film piracy.

There is increasing evidence that those behind the sale of illegal DVDs are involved
in many other forms of crime – such as benefit fraud, exploitation of young persons,
human trafficking and the supply of pornographic/paedophilic material.

The sale of pirate DVDs is merely the most public of a multitude of other illegal and
unsavoury activities, in which criminals are involved.

Illustrating DVD piracy’s association with broader criminality is therefore the crux of
the challenge facing FACT as this phenomenon escalates to new levels. To this end,
we have embarked upon an interdependent programme of structural and
organisational change that will allow us to raise the investigative threshold of the
agency in order to confront the criminal risk analysis of DVD piracy.

Rather than basing our success rate on accumulation of commodity alone, our aim is
to increase the numbers of prosecutions of principal figures and networks associated
with importation, manufacture and distribution of illicit film product.

Anyone who is aware of the DVD pirate activity can report it anonymously by calling
the FACT hotline 0845 6034567.