Research Brief Production Costs Crew Sizes Industrial Changes Image Quality Aesthetics & Style New Filmmakers Smaller Productions Big Productions Julia Morris Christopher Grose Post Production Distribution Cinemas Digital Distribution Digital Projectors Analogue Distribution of Digital Films Sharmill Films MPDAA David Hawkins Simone Govic Franziska Wagenfeld Day and Date Distribution Some Day and Date Numbers So Far Against Day and Date For Day and Date Forms of Piracy What is Piracy Piracy Stats Combating Piracy Online Distribution Exhibition Costs New forms of Exhibition References
| |
What are the
different types of Piracy?
By
Christopher George
There are
many differing forms of piracy and they each work differently but ultimately all
contribute to the epidemic that is piracy. The forms of piracy discussed here
are internet piracy, optical disc
piracy,
movie ripping methods,
theatrical print
theft,
signal
theft,
broadcast piracy,
public performance,
parallel imports
and
videocassette
piracy.
Internet
Piracy (HYPERLINK to
http://www.mpaa.org/piracy_internet.asp)
2
- The
downloading or distribution of unauthorized copies of movies, television,
music, games and software programs via the Internet.
- Illegal
downloads occur in many forms including file sharing networks, pirate servers,
websites and hacked computers.
- Each file
posted on the Internet can result in millions of downloads.
-
Hard goods
pirates also use the Internet to sell illegally duplicated DVDs through
auctions and websites.
The Global
Avalanche of Internet Piracy.
- The
primary source of newly released pirated movies comes from thieves who camcord
films in theaters.
- Illegally
recorded movies are then sold to individuals who distribute them around the
world through computer servers known as “Topsites.”
- The
extraordinary speed and power of a Topsite triggers the avalanche that is
global Internet piracy.
-
Click
here(HYPERLINK
mms://wm9.global.synccast.com/mpaa/topsite_avalanche.wmv)
to to view a short presentation on the Global Avalanche of Piracy.
Peer-to-peer
(p2p) file-sharing services
-
A network that enables
computers to connect directly to each other in order to distribute, trade and
copy files.
-
Examples of P2P services:
eDonkey, Kazaa, Limewire and DirectConnect.
-
These programs can turn your
computer into a directory and distributor of an unlimited variety of illegal
material, viruses and worms.
2
Optical disc
piracy (HYPERLINK to
http://www.mpaa.org/piracy_OptDisk.asp
)
2
·
The
illegal manufacturing, sale, distribution or trading of copies of motion
pictures in digital disc formats including DVD, DVD-R, CD, CD-R and VCD.
-
They are sold
on websites, online auction sites, via e-mail solicitation and by street
vendors and flea markets around the world.
-
Much like downloadable media, the pirated motion pictures in hard goods format
are typically poor quality video camera recordings.
-
The low cost
of disc burning hardware and blank discs has led to the proliferation of DVD-R
and CD-R burner labs.
Movie ripping methods
Cam Rips
1
- A copy
made in a cinema using a camcorder, possibly mounted on a tripod.
- Sound
source is the camera microphone.
- Cam rips
can appear online fast, after first preview, or premiere of the film, but the
quality is always quite horrible.
Telesync
Rips
1
- A copy
made in a cinema using a camcorder mounted on a
tripod.
-
Synchronized with a secondary audio recording, either done with a professional
microphone in an empty cinema, fed directly from the cinema's sound system, or
captured from an
FM radio
transmission intended for hearing-impaired customers.
- Often, a
‘Cam rip’ is mislabeled as a telesync. Telesync usually has certain angle in
the image, because the camera is below and possibly off from the center of the
screen.
DVD Rips
1
- A final
retail version of a film, typically released before it is available outside
its originating
region.
- Often
after one "release group" releases a high-quality DVD-Rip, the "race" to
release that film will stop.
- Because
of their high quality, DVD-Rips generally replace any earlier copies that may
already have been circulating.
Screener
Rips
1
- Early DVD
or VHS releases of the theatrical version of a film, typically sent to movie
reviewers,
Academy members, and
executives for review purposes.
- A
screener normally has a message overlaid on its picture, with wording similar
to: "The film you are watching is a promotional copy, if you purchased this
film at a retail store please contact 1-800-NO-COPIES to report it."
- Apart
from this, some movie studios release their screeners with a number of scenes
of varying duration shown in
black-and-white.
- Aside
from this message, and the occasional B&W scenes, screeners are normally of
only slightly lower quality than a retail DVD-Rip, due to the smaller
investment in DVD mastering for the limited run.
HDTV Rips
1
- Digital
stream rip is a rip that is captured from a digital source stream, such as a
HDTV or
DVB transmission.
- With HDTV
source, the quality can sometimes even surpass DVD.
- Movies in
this format are rare, as this source is used for primarily for TV show
ripping.
Telecine
Rip
1
- A copy
captured from a film print using a machine that transfers the movie from its
analog reel to digital format.
- Were rare
because the telecine machine for making these prints is very costly and very
large, however, recently they have become much more common.
- Telecine
is basically same quality as DVD, since the technique is same as digitizing
the actual film to DVD, but the result is inferior, since the source material
is usually lower quality copy reel.
- Telecine
machines usually cause a slight left-right jitter in the picture, and the
color levels are inferior compared to DVD.
Workprint Rip
1
- A copy
made from an unfinished version of a film produced by the studio.
- Has
missing effects overlays, and may not be identical to its theatrical release.
- Some
workprints have a time index marker running in a corner or on the top edge;
some may also include a watermark.
Theatrical
Print Theft (HYPERLINK to
http://www.mpaa.org/piracy_other.asp)
2
·
Theft of
an actual film print (35 or 16 mm) from a theater, film depot, courier service
or other industry-related facility for the purpose of making illegal copies.
·
Allows
the pirate to make a relatively high quality videotape from the theatrical
print, which then serves as the master for the duplication of unauthorized
videocassettes.
·
Extremely rare due to the difficulty in obtaining the prints illegally and also
in transferring the print to another format, such as videocassettes.
Signal Theft
2
·
Illegally tapping into cable TV systems as well as receiving satellite signals.
·
Pirates
also supply consumers with illegal cable decoders or satellite descramblers.
-
Internationally, the problem becomes more acute when programs not licensed to
a particular country are pirated from satellites and then re-transmitted in
that country either by cable or broadcast TV.
Broadcast
Piracy
2
·
Over-the-air broadcasts like signal theft.
-
However,
instead of stealing signals, the illegal act may be the on-air broadcasting of
films or television programs without permission from the copyright holder.
Public
Performance
2
·
Unauthorized public performances where an institution or commercial
establishment shows a tape or film to its members or customers without receiving
permission from the copyright owner.
Parallel
Imports
2
-
The
importation of goods authorized for manufacture or distribution in the
exporting country but imported without authority of the copyright or trademark
owner. (Parallel Importation may or may not be lawful under local laws).
Videocassette Piracy
2
-
The illegal duplication,
distribution, rental or sale of copyrighted videocassettes.
-
In recent years, the MPAA/MPA
shifted its investigative focus onto the illicit duplicating facilities or
"laboratories" that are set-up to create and distribute pirated
videocassettes, producing hundreds of thousands of illegal videocassette
copies each year which are distributed to a variety of outlets including swap
meets, co-operating video dealers and street vendors. The pirate product is
often packaged in counterfeit videocassette boxes that resemble legitimate
packaging.
Back-to-back Copying:
A "back-to-back" copy is a pirate videocassette made by connecting two VCRs and
then copying an original video onto a blank cassette.
|