THE GOVERNMENT is set to introduce tougher powers to curb sales of counterfeit DVDs, which are costing the entertainment industry and the exchequer millions in lost revenue and taxes.
In a review by senior officials, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has been told that gardaí should get extra powers to seize goods and vehicles without warrant. Local authorities are to be reminded that they have powers over casual traders, under existing but little-used legislation, to bar them from selling DVDs.
"There seems to be a casual assumption that the only victims of this type of crime are faceless international corporations, or millionaire movie stars. That is not the case," Mr Ahern said yesterday at the publication of the report.
"Ordinary employment and business livelihoods are threatened right here in Ireland," Mr Ahern said.
Nearly 80,000 DVDs were seized last year, mostly at ports, while more than 60,000 have been taken so far this year. State agencies are to combine to tackle the problem, headed by the Garda.
However, the State can only do so much, the report warns, as cheap copies are very popular.
Counterfeiters can now operate "on a scale not hugely different to that of the legitimate industry". The scale of the illegitimate trade in DVDs may be as high as 50 per cent or more of that of the legitimate business," the report states.
The expert group recommends seizures without warrants in some cases and prosecutions against those who allow their lands and property to be used for sale or production of pirate DVDs.
