Chances are, you or someone you know has a knock-off purse, or copied music or movies. For many, it's considered no big deal. But one San Diegan just went all the way to South America to show us how big of a deal it really is.
James Cooper, a San Diego attorney and film maker who teaches at the California Western School of Law, recently traveled down south to document the rip-off of intellectual property.
"Piracy poses an incredible danger to the future of the national economy," explains Cooper.
In Paraguay, Cooper followed local teams as they cracked down on seemingly small "mom and pop" operations. Inside a small room, authorities found a 16-year-old boy surrounded by computers and dozens of DVD burners. Each of these small operations can produce upwards of 4,000 DVD copies a day.
"The real damage, say, is $15 that's being lost to legitimate business. That's a $60,000 hit a day -- out of one lab," said Cooper.
And it's not just film and music, he says. "Baby food, nappies, even things like deodorant. You'd be amazed in Brazil what's being pirated."
Piracy is a global phenomenon. Here at home, knock-off clothing was recently seized at the South Bay Swap Meet. And local "purse parties" -- featuring knock-off designer goods from the Philippines -- are common.
"We have to understand that we as consumers are participating in this crime by buying fake Louis Vitan purses, by downloading music illegally," said Cooper.
 | Counterfeit Goods 5/12/09 A local attorney and filmmaker who teaches at the California Western School of Law went all the way to South America to document piracy. |
Funding Terrorism
Oscar Cuevas is an inspector for the special operations force in Paraguay. In the tri-border region, where the South American country meets Brazil and Argentina, pirated goods are easy money.
"The big fish are all foreigners and the small fish are locals. Paraguayans," explains Cuevas. "We never get to the big fish who pays the bills."
The inspector shows a recruitment film for Hezbollah found on a computer used for making pirated DVD's.
Gregory Trevorton of the Rand Report says it "has become a way for them to support themselves and their terror."
In a study released this year, the Rand Corporation says film piracy provides profit and propaganda for terrorists. Pirated copies of the movie Blackhawk Down, depicting the defeat of U.S. Forces in Somalia, were discovered in Pakistan with added promotions for Al Qaida, much like the video found in Paraguay.
Authorities hope awareness of such connections, will dissuade some potential buyers, as the sellers appear to replicate as fast as the products they copy.
It's estimated by Homeland Security that product piracy of all kinds costs the United States $250 billion a year.
