Fighting against fake DVDs
Graeme Reekie
A LEVEN businessman is fronting a new campaign highlighting the problems caused by counterfeit DVDs.
Estimated to cost the film and TV industries around £500m per year, the Fake Free Fife Roadshow aims to show the true crime behind watching copied and illegally recorded DVDs.
Graeme Reekie, who originally worked in The Regent but now owns the Kino cinema in Glenrothes, helped launch the Fife Council run campaign.
Mr Reekie said: “People might think there is no harm in just making or buying a copy of a film but the loss in business to a facility like ours can make the difference between whether or not we are able to operate and whether we can afford to employ the number of staff required.”
The campaign also aims to show people that despite the temptation to save a few pounds by buying fake DVDs, they are in fact funding organised criminal gangs.
A spokesperson for the local authority’s trading standards department said: “People who buy counterfeit DVDs may think they’re getting a bargain, but they should realise that these products are often very poor quality, may not work at all and they have very little chance of getting their money back.
“The profits are often used to fund serious crimes such as drugs and arms smuggling, people trafficking, identity theft, money-laundering and child pornography. Counterfeiting is seen by organised criminal gangs as attractive due to the perception of it being low-risk for high profit.”
If you have any information on counterfeiting or want further advice, visit www.fifedirect.org/uk/fakefreefife.
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Weather for Kirkcaldy
Wednesday 19 June 2013
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