Credit for police as pirated movies destroyed

Under tight security, $3 million worth of counterfeit DVDs, CD-ROMs and PlayStation discs were put through the grinder yesterday.

The haul of 200,000 pirated movies was seized by federal and state police in raids on suburban and country markets throughout Victoria during the past year.

Adrianne Pecotic, executive director of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft, the agency set up to defend the copyright of legitimate DVD producers, said seizure numbers are up on last year, indicating copyright theft is rising.

The destroyed discs, which sell for about $10 to $15 each, were fed into a conveyor belt leading to a mechanical grinder.

Probably 30 to 35 per cent of the discs originated in Asia, an investigator said. Others came from copies downloaded from the internet or brought in from Europe or America.

Ms Pecotic estimated the illegal DVD industry, centred in Victoria, cost the home entertainment industry in Australia well over $150 million this year.

A new development has been increased co-ordination between federal and state police, including Victoria Police's Asian squad, she said.

Commander of the Victoria Police state crime squads, Terry Purton, said offenders range from individuals "burning" discs in backyard operations to organised crime connections.

"We have evidence that the piracy is now widespread across Victoria," he said.

This includes country areas such as Mildura and Swan Hill, with open-air markets the favoured modus operandi.

"We have evidence that the same people are travelling between markets," he said.

Victorian county towns are among those hardest hit by piracy, Ms Pecotic said.

Cinema operators who have to wait for films to be commercially released are finding they can't attract audiences when someone has already been through town and sold pirated DVD copies, she said.

DVD stores in country towns are also registering the impact.

The DVD market nationwide is estimated at $1.2 billion.