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Russia's pirate fighters running to stand still as illicit industry booms
7/1/2006 8:00:57 PM

By ALEX NICHOLSON
AP Business Writer

When ''The Da Vinci Code'' premiered in Moscow, Konstantin Zemchenko started his count.

As the Motion Picture Association of America's top pirate-fighter in Russia, Zemchenko's operatives were monitoring the capital's markets and street stalls for when the first bootleg copies would appear.

His goal? A modest 10 day-delay. In the worst pirate market in the world after China, that translates into a blockbuster for Hollywood, which says it loses well over US$300 million (euro240 million) a year in Russia.

On this occasion, the pirates won: Three days after the premiere, a grainy, camcorder copy of the movie that cost a reported US$125 million (euro99 million) to make was available on DVD for 150 rubles (under US$6, euro5). Two days later, a pristine version with interactive menu was on sale for the same price...

RAPO's warehouse currently holds about US$7 million ($5.6 million) worth of pirated DVDs _ enough to make him very unpopular indeed with the people who had hoped to profit from their sale.

While the pressure from Washington has been reflected in a sharp rise in police raids over the past year on optical disc plants and warehouses _ the backbone of the counterfeiting industry _ the number of pirate optical disc production lines in Russia has doubled over the past two years. In Russia there are 50 licensed factories housing a total of 60 DVD and 68 CD production lines, with a maximum capacity of 800 million discs per year. Zemchenko estimates 90 percent produce both licensed and pirate discs loaded with music, films and software...

In the case of ''The Da Vinci Code,'' the first version to appear was a ''tryapka'' or ''rag'' _ Russian slang for the low-fi copies shot on camcorder directly in the cinema. Despite warnings shown before screenings, Russia's copyright law doesn't bar the practice: if a pirate is kicked out of a movie theater for filming, he can claim the copy was for personal use and successfully sue for the cost of his ticket...

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On this occasion, the pirates won: Three days after the premiere, a grainy, camcorder copy of the movie that cost a reported US$125 million (euro99 million) to make was available on DVD for 150 rubles (under US$6, euro5). Two days later, a pristine version with interactive menu was on sale for the same price...

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So there it is; the "rag" copy was out on the street for all of two days. Then came the pristine -- shall we call it the DIGITAL -- copy. The former was made presumably in a movie theatre off a screen while the later was made from within Hollywood itself. Which do you think cost the studio those millions of dollars?

Isn't it about time Hollywood redirects all that energy the MPAA spends trying to blame exhibition for their billions in lost revenue when the real source of their problems is directly from within their own house. How about doing away with cap codes all together and focus on security in post production facilities and on the MPAA members themselves (how bout stamping some cap codes on their foreheads) who walk around with DVD copies and laptop with elements and even the full versions of titles weeks before they are released?

How about sicing the FBI on those folks and areas. Security guards follow me around the booth like I am some kind of criminal and wand patrons when I play a sneak preview (that we later find has been out on the street days before I ever got it). I didn't see any security guards following someone I know around who had (legitmately) a copy of a blockbuster on his laptop harddrive. And I bet the FBI never busted any studio big shots who either directly or indirectly let a major release out of their hands before the release date.

Then again, when films are distributed digitally, all these piracy issues will be resolved, won't they? Bootleg blockbusters will never show up in Russia or China once all that digital protection is in place and evil film is done away with.

Ooops....I forgot; those millions of pristine copies that the optical pressing plates are churning out in Russia were made from digital copies!

Geez who they gonna blame now?!
 

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Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 07-23-2006, 12:34 AM:
 
Well, My horse just died, I'm gonna go beat it now.
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 07-23-2006, 01:02 AM:
 
Well, at least it looks like Russia is slowly catching up with Western levels of technology. Good for them.
 

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