MUMBAI: The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) in its partnership to fight piracy in New York, with the City of New York announced the arrival of new anti-piracy trailers to New York City movie theaters and NYC taxis equipped with Passenger Information Monitors.

The trailers – which premiered last week – are part of a public awareness campaign featuring a series of print and broadcast advertisements designed to combat the creation, distribution, and sale of illegally recorded films in New York City. The debut of the trailers is part of the City’s three-pronged approach to combating piracy, tougher legislation, stepped-up enforcement and increased public awareness.

“Movie piracy takes a real toll on New York’s economy in the way of lost jobs and revenue. These trailers were designed to help make people think twice before purchasing bootleg DVDs from street vendors throughout New York City,” said MPAA chairman and CEO Dan Glickman.

“With tougher legislation, more enforcement and the expansion of our public service campaign into local movie theaters and taxis, we are sending a clear message: we will not tolerate movie piracy,” said Mayor Bloomberg.

Using the universally recognizable look and feel of the MPAA’s ratings system and some memorable scenes from The Sixth Sense, Happy Feet and Titanic, the trailers illustrate the low quality product consumers of bootleg DVDs can expect to find and ask all New Yorkers to stop film piracy with the slogan “Get the Real Picture: Don’t Buy Illegal DVDs Off The Street.” The trailers underscore the losing proposition of purchasing bootlegged DVDs with mock ratings of “RO” for Ripped-Off, “PS” for Poor Sound, and “F” for Fake.

Regal Cinemas, Clearview Cinemas and National Amusements have already begun running the spots and almost 1,100 cabs in the city will feature the trailers. “Expanding the public service campaign to movie theaters and taxis will increase awareness throughout the city about the destructive consequences of video piracy. We are grateful to our partners at the National Association of Theatre Owners and to the Taxi and Limousine Commission for helping New York City continue to be a global leader in antipiracy efforts,” said Commissioner Katherine Oliver of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting (MOFTB).

Camcorders are at the top of the piracy pyramid, supplying more than 90 per cent of newly released movies that often appear online and in street markets around the world within days and even hours of a film’s theatrical release. The MPAA estimates that in 2006, New York City theaters were the origin of 43 per cent of camcorder-source pirated DVDs tracked in the United States, and 20 per cent of pirated movies seized globally.

The city’s thriving film, television and commercial production industry employs over 100,000 New Yorkers and generates $5 billion in economic activity. According to a recent MPAA-commissioned study, the New York motion picture industry suffers an estimated $1.49 billion in lost output annually resulting in 22,986 fewer jobs and $903 million in lost earnings as a consequence of global and local piracy of motion pictures. The MPAA commissioned study found that $637 million in total annual retail sales in New York are lost due to global and local piracy, resulting in a loss of $50 million in State and City sales taxes.

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