StanAE86
08-31-2007, 12:20 AM
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2007/08/30/entertainment/e091851D27.DTL
Thursday, August 30, 2007 (AP)
Dogs Sniff Out Counterfeit DVDs in NY
(08-30) 09:19 PDT New York (AP) --
There's no need to fear — unless you bootleg DVDs.
The movie industry's real-life "Underdogs" — two specially trained
black Labradors — have sniffed out a large inventory of knockoff
discs in the New York City borough of Queens, the district attorney's
office said Wednesday.
The dogs, named Lucky and Flo, participated in a probe resulting in raids
on three retail outlets where investigators discovered thousands of hidden
DVDs. Titles included "The Simpsons Movie,""The Bourne Ultimatum" and
"Underdog," the film inspired by a cartoon superhero beagle. Three people
were arrested and charged with trademark counterfeiting.
Lucky and Flo are sponsored by the Motion Picture Association of America,
and are trained to identify discs by the scent of chemicals.
"Man's best fried has become a DVD counterfeiter's worst nightmare,"
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.
It was their first assignment in the U.S., following a successful
assignment in Malaysia in March. During that stint — dubbed
Operation Double Trouble — they helped unearth nearly 1.9 million
DVDs, three DVD replicating machines and 97 compact disc burners, worth $6
million. Twenty-six people were arrested on copyright violations.
The operations were so successful that Malaysian movie pirates were
reported to have placed a bounty of $29,000 on the dogs, prompting them to
be kept under close guard.
Movie studios in the U.S. lost $6.1 billion to worldwide piracy in 2005,
of which the Asia-Pacific region accounted for $1.2 billion and the United
States for $1.3 billion, according to the Motion Picture Association of
America. ----------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2007 AP
Thursday, August 30, 2007 (AP)
Dogs Sniff Out Counterfeit DVDs in NY
(08-30) 09:19 PDT New York (AP) --
There's no need to fear — unless you bootleg DVDs.
The movie industry's real-life "Underdogs" — two specially trained
black Labradors — have sniffed out a large inventory of knockoff
discs in the New York City borough of Queens, the district attorney's
office said Wednesday.
The dogs, named Lucky and Flo, participated in a probe resulting in raids
on three retail outlets where investigators discovered thousands of hidden
DVDs. Titles included "The Simpsons Movie,""The Bourne Ultimatum" and
"Underdog," the film inspired by a cartoon superhero beagle. Three people
were arrested and charged with trademark counterfeiting.
Lucky and Flo are sponsored by the Motion Picture Association of America,
and are trained to identify discs by the scent of chemicals.
"Man's best fried has become a DVD counterfeiter's worst nightmare,"
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.
It was their first assignment in the U.S., following a successful
assignment in Malaysia in March. During that stint — dubbed
Operation Double Trouble — they helped unearth nearly 1.9 million
DVDs, three DVD replicating machines and 97 compact disc burners, worth $6
million. Twenty-six people were arrested on copyright violations.
The operations were so successful that Malaysian movie pirates were
reported to have placed a bounty of $29,000 on the dogs, prompting them to
be kept under close guard.
Movie studios in the U.S. lost $6.1 billion to worldwide piracy in 2005,
of which the Asia-Pacific region accounted for $1.2 billion and the United
States for $1.3 billion, according to the Motion Picture Association of
America. ----------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2007 AP