Best Practices to Prevent F ilm Theft

–

Revised October 2013

2

The motion picture industry is a vital sector of the U.S. economy. It employs millions of U.S. workers and generates revenue for local businesses and communities. The theft or piracy of copyrighted films costs the U.S. entertainment industry billions of dollars in reven ue each year. That loss of revenue hits directly at bottom-line profits and negatively impacts those millions of workers who earn their living in this industry.



Movie thieves use recording devices to record and steal movies directly from theater screens. These devices include, but are not limited to, video camcorders, digital cameras, cell phones and audio capturing devices.



Sophisticated thieves often combine the stolen video sourced from one theater with the stolen audio sourced from an entirely different theater.



Copies of camcorded movies are acquired by so-

called “release groups” for distribution

over the Internet and by organized pirate networks that illegally produce counterfeit discs in DVD replication plants and burner labs. These discs (commonly

referred to as “bootlegs”)

are distributed and sold throughout the world.



It is estimated that over 90% of the illegal film content available during the theatrical release of a film is due to camcording.



Movie theft causes economic harm to everyone in the industry, from film makers to theater employees. Furthermore, it jeopardizes the future of movie making.