IP: [Next a DVD burning djf] Police raid video stores in Sweden for selling -- imported DVDs

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 10:42:40 -0400
> To: politech () politechbot com
> From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
> X-News-Site: Cluebot is at http://www.cluebot.com/
>
> [Perhaps next we'll see European police holding public bonfires of Region 
> 1 DVDs? At least it'll be a good photo opportunity. --Declan]
>
> ---
>
> To: declan () well com
> From: Macki <macki () 2600 com>
> Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 14:26:13 -0700
>
> I suppose it was inevitable... Eventually they'll be locking people up for 
> giving away the endings to movies too (depriving the studios of value and 
> whatnot).
>
> http://www.2600.com/news/display.shtml?id=541
>
> VIDEO STORE RAIDED FOR SELLING IMPORTED DVD'S
> Posted 28 Jun 2001 08:58:56 UTC
> A front page article in the Swedish daily Metro (Skane edition) has a very 
> interesting article about a raid which took place at video stores in 
> Gothenburg and Stockholm. Apparently, the only reason this raid took place 
> was because the store was selling Region 1 DVD's - in other words, 
> imported DVD's. No, this is not a dream.
>
> As you may know, the MPAA, among other entities, has helped to create 
> artificial barriers that prevent DVD's from being played in different 
> parts of the world. It's called "region coding." This is what programs 
> like DeCSS manage to defeat and it's one of the real reasons the MPAA went 
> ballistic over its release. Being able to force people to buy DVD's on 
> whatever terms the industry decrees makes it a lot easier to really rake 
> in the dough and control distribution in ways that were previously 
> unimaginable. And now they apparently intend to get tough on anyone who 
> tries to bypass this barrier - even if there was absolutely no piracy or 
> illegal activity involved!
>
> Here is a translation of the article, courtesy of a 2600 reader in Sweden. 
> Note how it's now being said that it's actually ILLEGAL to sell DVD's from 
> a different region. It's also rather humorous how the value of the DVD's 
> is stated as if this were some kind of a drug or weapon bust. And it's 
> rather chilling to find out that apparently this is not the first time 
> such a thing has happened.
>
> Metro, Wednesday 27 June 2001
> by Joakim Goksor
>
>
> "Hundreds of illegal DVD's seized by Swedish Police"
>
> Gothenburg - Hundreds of illegal DVD's were seized when the Police's 
> enforcement officer carried out a civil search on the "TV-Spelborsen" 
> store located in the Femman building yesterday.
>
> The films are all so-called "Region 1" DVD's, reserved for the American 
> market and therefore forbidden for retail sale in Europe.
>
> The raid was part of a coordinated action against the retail-chain's 
> location in central Stockholm, where a similar raid netted several hundred 
> DVD films.
>
> In all, around 500 DVD's were seized, with an extimated market value of 
> approximately 150,000 Swedish Kronor, or US$15,000.
>
> In a previous Swedish case with approximately the same number of seized 
> DVD's, a retailer was sentenced to a fine of approximately 500,000 Swedish 
> Kronor -- US$50,000.
>
>
>
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