Earlier this year bootleg DVDs became even more illegal in New York, and now there's a new way "the man" is cracking down on the bootleggers: with puppies! Metro reports that:
“Dogs are used to sniff out bodies, bombs and drugs,” said Malcolm, who’s now the chief of worldwide anti-piracy operations for the Motion Picture Association of America. “We just needed to see if they could be trained to smell the unique chemicals in DVDs. Lo and behold, they can.”
Remember that Seinfeld episode where Jerry bootlegs a movie and does such a great job he becomes a legend amongst the bootleggers? Well now he would have a lot more to worry about had he been caught. Secretly videotaping movies in a New York City theater may become a misdemeanor under a bill approved by the City Council yesterday. Prior to this bill, it was only a $250 fine, a slap on the wrist compared to the new fine of $5,000 and possible jail time (up to six months).
In October, Mayor Bloomberg announced legislation to penalize movie piracy. NYC, besides being a capitol of finance, media, and fashion, among other things, is also the capitol of movie piracy, with 43% of all pirated DVDs coming from the Big Apple.
We spotted this sign on Wooster near Canal Street, close to where all the vendors are selling bootleg Prada bags and illicit DVDs. The sign seems a little low-production value for the Motion Picture Association of America-- so we're curious who is behind it. Any ideas?
This week The Ethicist takes a question from a man posted in Vietnam who buys bootlegged copies of DVDs because "legitimate copies" are mostly unavailable in his area. Under such circumstances, is it ethical to buy pirated movies? If the man pays a monthly fee to a video rental service such as Netflix in order to make sure the studios get a little money, is he in the clear?
