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AICO Newsletter - October 2009 Issue 15

AICO CELEBRATES ITS 6th BIRTHDAY – and the battle continues
Congratulations members, supporters and subscribers, AICO turned six in September. While we celebrate I expect this comes as a disappointment to the pirates and the naysayers who forecast and no doubt hoped that AICO lacked longevity.

AICO is an established institution in the Australian Adult film industry landscape. Its existence and activities are well known to both legitimate operators and pirates and those who have a foot in both camps. There are well over four million DVDs circulating that feature the distinctive AICO hologram on their slicks; an assurance that those DVDs are authentic.

With the support of our members we’ve raised the level of understanding within the adult industry about film piracy, copyright law and related issues. It would be difficult to find a retailer or wholesaler who isn’t better informed about copyright and AICO’s activities than they were six years ago.

AICO and its members have run several high profile and in some instances long running piracy cases, setting precedents in the Federal Magistrates and Federal Courts of Australia.

Blue back copies of AICO member films have largely disappeared from the mainstream adult DVD market. Unfortunately factory pressed copies and illegal parallel imports continue to enter the market. The industry also faces the major challenge of dealing with online piracy including free stolen content available from illegitimate tube sites. Online content theft is a major focus of copyright owners in the USA and Europe.

Piracy continues to undermine the livelihood of legitimate retailers and distributors and remains a real and ongoing threat to the studios, producers, actors, directors, technicians, marketers and other employees that make adult films possible.

Illegitimate operators and adult-media pirates do not want to see an industry with a level playing field. Their livelihood is made from stolen goods, that is the pirated films they sell, often under opaque business structures in an attempt to avoid detection by copyright owners.

Heading into its seventh year AICO will continue the fight to protect its members’ rights and to further promote a viable, professional, legal and legitimate adult film industry.

Play Me Piracy Case – Digital Playground and others v Play Me Distribution Pty Ltd and Helen Dannoun
AICO members have commenced a new piracy case in the Federal Magistrates Court Sydney against Play Me Distribution Pty Ltd (Play Me) and its alleged controller Helen Dannoun.

An AICO investigator purchased alleged infringing DVDs from the Play Me adult stores in Kogarah NSW (aka Fantasy Lane) and Leichhardt NSW (aka Leichhardt Adult Super Store). They included alleged pirated copies or parallel imported versions of DVDs owned by Digital Playground, Private, Vivid, Club Jenna, Daring and exclusively distributed by Calvista Australia Pty Ltd.

AICO Executive Officer Graeme Dunne said, “After six years of information, education and enforcement by AICO, adult film retailers and wholesalers are well aware of adult film piracy and must understand that AICO and its members do not tolerate the sale of infringing copies of their films.”

Federal Magistrate Lloyd-Jones made several Court Orders including setting a timetable for the discovery of documents, the provision of evidence and the uplifting of documents subpoenaed from the Australian Customs Service and the Commonwealth Bank, leading to a directions hearing on 4 December 2009.

DVD Pirate – Mr. A. Conti Bankrupted
Adult DVD pirate Anthony Constantinou, aka Mr A Conti, became a bankrupt following a Sequestration Order made in the Federal Magistrates Court on 1 June 2009. The bankruptcy proceedings were commenced by AICO following Mr Conti’s failure to pay $10,000 in settlement damages resulting from the Digital Wholesalers piracy case.

National Investigation of Adult Stores
Adult retailers and wholesalers take note: AICO’s trained team of investigators regularly and randomly purchase DVDs they suspect to be pirated or illegally parallel imported from adult stores Australia-wide.

If you are selling copyright infringing DVDs you run the risk of detection by AICO’s investigators and possible legal action by AICO and its members. You might feel a false sense of security if you haven’t been caught yet. However, you never know when an AICO investigator is buying DVDs from your store. Maybe it was the customer you just served?

There are many store owners around Australia who are well aware of recent activity by AICO piracy investigators. AICO or its Distributor Members Climax Media Group and Calvista Australia have been in contact with these stores after copyright infringing DVDs were purchased by AICO investigators. These included pirated blue-backs, factory pressed silver-backs and parallel imported DVDs.

How to spot a pirate DVD BROCHURE
AICO’s investigation of the sale of pirate blue back DVDs, pirate factory pressed silver back DVDs and parallel imported DVDs is ongoing.

AICO’s How to spot a pirate DVD brochure will help you identify copyright infringing DVDs. If you are uncertain about the authenticity of AICO member DVDs offered to you check with an AICO distributor member or the film studio.

You can request a copy of AICO’s brochure How to spot a pirate DVD via email, info@aico.org.au or by calling 02 9328 5527. A soft copy download is available on the home page of the AICO web site.

AICO HOLOGRAMS
AICO distributor members have affixed over 4 million AICO holograms to their films. By purchasing DVDs that display the AICO hologram you are assured that the films you are buying are authentic.

Date :2009-09-29 00:00:00