Police raid DVD counterfeit ring in N.B.

Police have broken up a counterfeit DVD operation in Minto, N.B.

A couple from that community has been arrested and more than 600 pirated DVDsseized. They will appear in court in May to face charges of copyright infringement.

Some of the movies counterfeited were titles such as Brokeback Mountain and Syriana, films so new they aren't out on DVD in legal form yet.

It wasn't as big as the operationsrecently discovered in Toronto, police say, but it was a first for the province.

"For New Brunswick, it's significant," said RCMP Sgt. Terry Lee Kennedy.

A tip from the public led to an investigation. Besides the discs, which sold for $10, police seized computers, along with downloading and dubbing software.

Gary Osmond, an investigator with anti-piracy operations for the Canadian motion picture industry, says widespread availability of technology makes counterfeiting a crime that can be carried out anywhere.

"DVD burners are cheaper. People have high-speed internet now so they can download movies and then burn them," he said in an interview with CBC Radio.

Counterfeiting is a growing business, with about 390,000 counterfeit DVDs seized in Canada in2005, compared with 40,000 in 2004,he said.

It doesn't hurt just the film industry, Osmond said. "It affects local people as well theatre owners, video store rental companies who see their dollar figure drop because people are not renting videos anymore because they can buy it for the price of a rental."

The New Brunswick operation involved sales through the internet, but police say counterfeit DVDs are turning up in stores in Vancouver and Toronto.

Consumers can tell if a DVD is counterfeit by the colour of the disc, which will be blue or purple, Osmond said.

"The original, or legitimate copies are usually silver or gold and you won't see any lines on the DVD," he said.

Criminal offences under the copyright act are punishable by finesup to $1 million, or imprisonment of up to five years.