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Lucky and Flo hit the US

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 Sep 2007 10:48 User comments (17)

Lucky and Flo hit the US After becoming infamous for piracy busts in Malaysia and elsewhere around Asia, the DVD sniffing dogs Lucky and Flo have finally hit the United States, home of the MPAA.
Credited with the bust of three operations in Queens, New York, Lucky and Flo helped with the seizure of thousands of pirated DVDs and the arrest of the operators of the retail outlets.

District Attorney Brown said, "For the first time in the United States, specially trained DVD sniffing dogs have actively participated in a criminal investigation aimed at combating DVD piracy. The dogs passed with flying colors by successfully ferreting out hidden contraband at a number of locations. Man's best friend has become a DVD counterfeiter's worst nightmare as we now welcome this latest weapon into our law enforcement anti-piracy arsenal."

"The MPAA has a multi-pronged approach to fighting piracy, including public outreach and enforcement. And since last year we've added two more very talented crime fighters to our arsenal, Lucky and Flo, the world's first DVD-sniffing canines," said John Malcolm, Executive VP and Director of Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations for the MPAA.



Lucky and FLo are in the United States to help raise awareness about the dangers of film theft and its strain on the economy. Mr. Malcolm also talked about the "dangerous nature" of criminal syndicates that engage in the sales of pirated DVDs.

"I commend the Queens District Attorney for his efforts to fight film piracy in his jurisdiction and for utilizing these amazing pups in yesterday's raid. We are pleased and proud to assist him in his ongoing efforts to combat this pernicious crime that puts money into the hands of serious criminals and deprives creative artists of their right to make an honest living creating works of movie magic that we all enjoy," concluded Mr. Malcolm.

The three defendants arrested in Queens currently face up to 4 years in prison if convicted of second-degree trademark counterfeiting.

Source:
Slyck

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17 user comments

14.9.2007 11:09

Good for them! Piracy is a HUGE problem and Im happy to see this be controlled. I mean, forget about the real problems in New York.

What a friggin joke this is.

24.9.2007 11:33

"Dangerous nature" ?????? Wow, I guess I'm never going to New York again. I can't believe people copy DVD's and sell them. I'm glad I don't live across the street from those devil worshipers. But it would be funny to see some dogs sniffing around for some DVD's. It's like something they would put in a movie, a Waynes Brother's movie or something.

34.9.2007 12:15

Piracy IS a huge problem. You act like this is something new. What ever can be done to combat pirates SHOULD be done. Those who think combating piracy is a joke deserve to be caught.

44.9.2007 12:53

It actualy benefits the public in New York the pirate dvd's sold on the streets are fu*kin terrible. I bought one out of lazyness as i knew there was a screener relase out there so instead of having to "aquire" it somhow and copy it to dvd i bought a street copy and oh my god! it was like the guy turned on his camera and didnt know he had to point it at the screen and as i remember he had a huge bag full of them, they would be worth more money if they were blank

54.9.2007 12:53

It actualy benefits the public in New York the pirate dvd's sold on the streets are fu*kin terrible. I bought one out of lazyness as i knew there was a screener relase out there so instead of having to "aquire" it somhow and copy it to dvd i bought a street copy and oh my god! it was like the guy turned on his camera and didnt know he had to point it at the screen and as i remember he had a huge bag full of them, they would be worth more money if they were blank

64.9.2007 13:18

Oh wait stop all Drug training for dogs.. Start training then to sniff out DVD and CDs.. How do they distiguish between original and backup copies?? Let me guess they train them with Metallica and Paramount Pictures Dvds and Cds...

74.9.2007 14:04

I still don't get why there are only two dogs. If they are so successful, why don't they train others?

84.9.2007 14:11
flyingv
Inactive

What I would like to know is how many false hits these two dogs are giving. You know that people are shipping home movies thro the mail system and shipping companys and the dogs can't determine how many movies there, just that there is a "home-brewed" DVD in the package. The dogs are given the credit for a few good busts, what about the mojority of the false hits? This has got to drive 'em crazy.

94.9.2007 14:14

Alright let me just say piracy is really easy,and if they want to stop it then all they have to do is get rid of the tools to produce pirated material.I mean you don't need trained dogs sniffing the dye on dvds to catch people in the act.

104.9.2007 14:15

Originally posted by Jlhfit:
How do they distiguish between original and backup copies??

Burnable media is manufactured with different materials than media which is pressed.

114.9.2007 14:47

Quote:
"Dangerous nature" ?????? Wow, I guess I'm never going to New York again. I can't believe people copy DVD's and sell them. I'm glad I don't live across the street from those devil worshipers. But it would be funny to see some dogs sniffing around for some DVD's. It's like something they would put in a movie, a Waynes Brother's movie or something.
I'm pretty sure they are talking about the trend that large scaled movie pirates also deal in drug trafficking and such. Since the penalty for DVD/CD piracy is harsher than drugs, guns, terror, murder, and rape, they are charged for piracy. They probably use the dogs to sniff out drugs and if they don't find DVDs, they let them go.

It can't be from the smell of DVDs, cause what would happen if they raid a DVD duplication/replication facility? Or those people that do wedding and home movie to DVD? I'm sure you can train a dog to sniff out DVDs, but they will not be able to tell which are pirating shops and which are legitimate.

124.9.2007 16:44

They dont care about some dude on the street selling some screeners. They want to bust the bodegas that have a stockpile in the back. Only 2 dogs? These are the same dogs they had in Malaysia a while back with medals around their neck. Never thought I would see a thread like this one.

134.9.2007 17:15

wow...and yet...where are the dogs that sniff out rapists, murders, child molesters, embezzlers, kidnappers, child pornographers...

when are they going to be trained?

144.9.2007 23:23

So how can these dogs tell the difference between a legitimate and counterfeit DVD? Whenever I travel, I always take some (legitimate) DVD's with me. Are dogs going to sniff that at the airport and I'll get arrested in the future?
I really wonder how they keep coming up with these far fetched ideas

155.9.2007 11:38

From what I've read, the dogs can only tell when there's a large amount of DVD media present. They can't distinguish between legitimate and counterfeit necessarily, but when they find a large amount that raises suspicion, it would be able to be checked out and verified if it's legit or not.

1610.9.2007 15:44

The mpaa and the riaa would be loving this.

1714.6.2009 13:20
nyurbiz
Inactive

@Jlhfit Since the war on drugs is a TOTAL bust they may as well train the dogs to do something else. The thing that irks me when the movie and music industries talk about piracy is that they claim that they are losing money from piracy and seem not to consider the fact that most people who are willing to spend a few $$ for a pirated dvd or cd ARE NOT WILLING TO PAY FULL PRICE, and so they would never have received ANY money from those people.

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