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Theatrical Print Theft
Theft of a film print (35 or 16 mm) from a cinema, film depot, courier service or other industry-related facility for the purpose of making illegal copies is one of the most serious forms of copyright theft. This type of theft allows the pirate to make a high quality master copy, which then enables the mass duplication of further pirated copies. Fortunately, this type of theft is extremely rare due to the difficulty in stealing the prints and also in transferring the print to another format, such as digital media. |
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Signal Theft
Signal theft refers to the act of illegally tapping into cable TV systems as well as receiving satellite signals without authorization. In addition, copyright thieves have supplied consumers with illegal cable decoders or satellite descramblers. Internationally, the problem becomes more acute when programs not licensed to a particular country are stolen from satellites and then re-transmitted in that country either by cable or broadcast TV. |
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Broadcast Piracy
Like signal theft, broadcast piracy is copyright theft involving over-the-air broadcasts. 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. |
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Public Performance
Unauthorized public performances include the showing by an institution or commercial establishment of a tape or film to an audience without the permission of the copyright owner. This includes public performances for which an admission fee is charged as well as those that are simply offered as an additional service of the establishment. Please refer to Piracy & the Law |
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Parallel Imports
Parallel imports are goods authorized for manufacture or distribution in the exporting country but imported into New Zealand without the authority of the copyright or trademark owner.
Licensing and control of product sale and importation is a means to protect local industry. When anyone can bring in any disc from anywhere, significant amounts of pirated goods come in, often masquerading as legitimate product. For copyright owners, parallel imports make it difficult to set up distribution networks that serve territorial markets and promote competition. If parallel importers undercut legitimate distribution networks, those distribution networks - encompassing a wide range of companies including not only distributors, retailers and rental outlets but also advertising companies, promotional merchandise suppliers, local video duplicators, dubbing studios, and packaging firms - will wither and die. In turn, copyright owners will be unable to distribute content that is adapted to the local market. As an example, most New Zealanders prefer their films without subtitles. Every VCD sold in China has Chinese subtitles burned directly onto the image - they can't be removed. In addition, parallel importers typically 'cherry pick' the most and more popular titles, and create a disincentive for video distributors to provide the wide variety of titles that are currently available to video retailers. Importation regulations protect businesses and they protect consumers from the same thing - low quality, illegitimate product. In New Zealand there is a nine-month window from the date of a film's first theatrical release anywhere in the world before they are allowed to be imported without authorization by the license-holder. |
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Videocassette Piracy
Similar to optical disc piracy but in an older analog format, videocassette piracy is the illegal duplication, distribution, rental or sale of copyrighted videocassettes. Illegal copies are manufactured and then distributed via a variety of outlets including at swap meets, co-operating video dealers and street vendors. The pirate product is often packaged in counterfeit videocassette boxes that resemble legitimate packaging. |
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