Blow to DVD piracy
2002-12-11 10:19
Los Angeles - A movie industry trade group has sued nine online vendors it alleges are selling pirated films through auction sites such as eBay.
eBay was not named in the copyright infringement lawsuits filed against individuals across the country by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which represents Hollywood's biggest studios.
"It is an unfortunate reality that consumers may be sorely disappointed, finding that the DVD or video that they paid for is not a bargain at all and that it is, in fact, of a much lower quality than what they expected," said Jack Valenti, president and chief executive officer of the MPAA, on Tuesday.
An MPAA spokesperson said the group was working closely with eBay to combat internet-based piracy.
"eBay is an online service that's based on the legitimate sale of various products. Unfortunately, there are some people who misuse it," she said.
Several of the defendants could not be reached for comment.
But one of them, who had not yet received a copy of the lawsuit, said he was not aware that he had broken any laws.
"I am an avid DVD collector and I buy and sell about 100 DVDs through eBay every other week," said Todd Aspinwall, an insurance company employee of Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
Aspinwall said he usually buys 100 DVDs at a time through eBay auctions from overseas sellers, and then sells those he does not want.
"I test each one and make sure it works. I've never believed that any of these were pirated DVDs," he said.
In a news release, the MPAA provided safety tips for online shoppers by telling them to watch out for DVDs or videos that are "too cheap" or "new" to be true, or which have inferior accompanying art work.