CHICAS PRODUCTIONS: Illegal

Thursday, June 23, 2011

PayPal shuts down accounts of online retailers selling pirated DVDs...

PayPal is cracking down on Chinese retailers who are using the company's online pay service to sell bootleg DVDs.

The San Jose-based company has closed the accounts of dozens of merchants making unauthorized use of PayPal's global payment service in violation of the company's policy, according to a statement from the Motion Picture Assn. of America's Asia Pacific Office in Singapore.

The action followed a joint operation with the MPAA's Asia Pacific Office that investigated the activities of various merchants, most based in China, which marketed and shipped counterfeit DVDs and Blu-ray discs to retail and wholesale customers worldwide.

"Our action today sends a strong message to all criminals that PayPal does not tolerate such illegal activity on our global pay platform,'' said Julie Bainbridge, PayPal's head of global brand risk management.

"We are very pleased that this joint operation has resulted in the immediate shutdown of dozens of accounts belonging to copyright infringers, many of whom have been exploiting legitimate platforms for years to sell counterfeit material worldwide," said Mike Ellis, president and managing director of the MPAA's Asia Pacific Office.

Thank you Los Angeles Times

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Senate Committee Votes to Make Illegal Streaming of Movies, TV a Felony...

The Commercial Felony Streaming Act is supported by AFTRA, the DGA and other Hollywood unions.
Moving to close a possible loophole in the laws against the pirating of movies, TV shows and other intellectual property, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved making illegal streaming of video over the internet a felony in most cases. The proposed law will now go to the full Senate for consideration.

The Commercial Felony Streaming Act (S. 978), introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Cornyn (R-TX), reconciles a disparity between the current law and streaming of content and peer-to-peer (P2P) downloading.

This legislation is supported by the Obama administration and a broad entertainment industry coalition, including the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), AFTRA, Directors Guild of America, IATSE and SAG. Others who have pushed for passage include the MPAA, the Independent Film & Television Alliance and the National Association of Theatre Owners.
"We commend the Committee for moving this important piece of legislation for consideration by the Senate. It will close a gaping hole in the law and go far in protecting the livelihoods of theater employees from the threat posed by illegal streaming," says NATO President John Fithian. "To the technicians, designers, construction workers, and artists who support their families through their work in entertainment, there's no difference between illegal downloading and illegal streaming – it's all theft that hurts their work, their wages and their benefits.
"This bill will help ensure that the punishment for these site operators fits the crime," says Michael O'Leary, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs for the MPAA.

"The illegal streaming of motion pictures and television programming is as financially devastating for our industry as is illegal downloading," says IFTA President Jean Prewitt. "Stealing is stealing, regardless of the means in which the product is being received.

The bill makes it illegal to stream video for commercial purposes. The penalty is increased to up to five years in prison when it involves 10 or more instances of streaming over a 180-day period. The retail value of the streamed video must exceed $2,500, or the licenses to the material must be worth more than $5,000.

The bill follows the suggestion made two months ago by the White House Office of U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement which urged Congress to make illegal streaming a felony.

Thank you Hollywood Reporter

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