LA On the Attack on Video Pirates

Officials Announce Criminal Cases, Raids, Intent to Stop Problem Altogether

On Apr. 29, Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn, Police Chief William Bratton and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo announced a big victory in the battle against video piracy - Hollywood's latest bugaboo.

Delgadillo's office filed 12 criminal cases related to pirated DVD and CD sales. The LAPD made three separate raids that same morning that netted more than 5,000 illegally copied DVDs, along with duplicating equipment. Officials from the MPAA the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and major studios applauded the announcement.

The 12 cases resulted in the confiscation of 2,317 pirated CDs and 784 pirated DVDs. It marks the latest in a campaign from lawmakers and law enforcement to crack down on video piracy. California recently made it a criminal offense to videotape movies in a theater.

"We want to tell everybody loud and clear that if you are out there trying to secretly videotape a movie in a movie theater, we are going to arrest you, Rocky is going to prosecute you, and you're going to go to jail," Hahn said.

A recent Deloitte & Touche study found that online and hard copy piracy combine to cost the film industry $6 billion-$7.5 billion per year.

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