BULGARIAN POLICE RAID PIRATE CD PRODUCER, ARREST

UNCLAS SOFIA 001546

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EB/IPE JURBAN; SWILSON
DEPT PLEASE PASS USTR LERRION
DOC FOR SSAVICH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR ASEC BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIAN POLICE RAID PIRATE CD PRODUCER, ARREST
TEN PEOPLE



1. SUMMARY: The Bulgarian police broke up a large-scale
Optical Disc Media (ODM) bootlegging operation, involving
production and distribution of pirated goods. Following a
well-planned investigation, the police raided two illegal
production sites August 31, seizing over 70,000 pirated
discs with a retail value between 364,000-936,000 Bulgarian
leva (USD 228,000 - 585,000). Local industry
representatives hailed the operation as a success and hope
criminal cases against the 10 arrested suspects will soon
follow. END SUMMARY.


2. The Ministry of Interior announced August 31 a major
enforcement action against criminal organizations involved
in the illegal production and distribution of copyrighted
material. The police action is the culmination of a six-
month joint investigation conducted by members of the
Economic Police Force in Sofia, Burgas and Vratsa, who
worked in cooperation with industry representatives. The
enforcement activity was designed to disrupt and dismantle
some of the major criminal organizations that illegally
produce, distribute and trade in copyrighted software,
movies, music and games.


3. Local industry representatives confirmed for us that the
raids were prompted by information that they passed to
police. The police simultaneously raided two production
sites and warehouses in Sofia and Vratsa, and reportedly
seized over 70,000 illegal CDs/DVDs containing music and
movies. Police believe the investigation uncovered a major
source of illegal CDs in Bulgaria. The pirated goods were
sold throughout the country, predominantly in Black Sea
resorts, for prices between 7 Bulgarian leva (USD 4.4) and
18 Bulgaria leva (USD 11.3). Additionally, the police
seized nine computer systems, a CD burner, a printing
machine, 50 CD-Rs, 27 stereos, over one million printed CD
covers of top name international artists, and another 2,000
pirate CDs/DVDs in Burgas. The equipment had the capacity
to produce 1000 counterfeit CDs a day.


4. Police arrested 10 people including the 38 year-old
suspected organizer of the operation. Under the current
Penal Code, the suspects could face imprisonment of up to
three years and a fine of 1,000 - 3,000 Bulgarian leva (USD
625 - 1,875).


5. On behalf of local industry, Rozalina Apostolova, head
of the local representation of the Motion Picture
Association, welcomed the Ministry of Interior's latest
actions against organized CD/DVD piracy in Bulgaria. She
said this is an important seizure, which highlights the
growing problem of pirate production in Bulgaria. According
to Apostolova, the raid may be the police force's largest
seizure of pirated CDs/DVDs in several years.

COMMENT: The raid has successfully disrupted - if not
dismantled - what might be one of Bulgaria's larger
organized IPR bootlegging rings. The seizure of such a
large amount of production and the arrests of the ten people
reflect the growing scale of ODM piracy and trade in
Bulgaria. We are hopeful that it also represents the start
of increased enforcement activities. These coordinated
raids are a good example of how the national enforcement
bodies together with industry representatives can
successfully fight piracy. Real success, however, will
depend on whether the courts now follow through with
prosecutions and convictions and whether further seizures
continue. END COMMENT.

BEYRLE