DVDs and Blu-rays will now carry two unskippable government warnings

**FirtY** · 05-11-12 at 08:18 AM

You know those FBI warning messages that appear at the beginning of DVDs and Blu-ray discs? They're getting an upgrade—and they're multiplying.

The US government yesterday rolled out not one but two copyright notices, one to "warn" and one to "educate." Six major movie studios will begin using the new notices this week.

The main change is that Immigrations & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has, in the last several years, made itself a key player in the copyright wars. The FBI has shown extremely limited interest in going after individual websites, but ICE has done so with gusto; it has so far seized more than 750 domain names after rightsholder complaints. This new prominence is reflected in the broader logos used.

ICE now appears on both notices. The first notice shows the traditional FBI seal and a warning that "the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by federal law enforcement agencies and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000." The logo for ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit now appears beside the FBI's.

Banner number one. Now with "more logo"

The second notice shows the logo for the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, which involves 20 different US government agencies. It features one extremely angry eagle who would probably pluck your eyeballs from your sockets if he could get those talons near you. "Piracy is not a victimless crime," says the notice. "For more information on how digital theft harms the economy, please visit

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www.iprcenter.gov.

The educational message.

Will the two screens be shown back to back? Will each screen last for 10 seconds each? Will each screen be unskippable? Yes, yes, and yes.

An ICE spokesman tells me that the two screens will "come up after the previews, once you hit the main movie/play button on the DVD. At which point the movie rating comes up, followed by the IPR Center screen shot for 10 secs and then the FBI/HSI anti-piracy warning for 10 secs as well. Neither can be skipped/fast forwarded through."

The idea isn't to deter current pirates, apparently (the new scheme requires all legal purchasers to sit through 20 seconds of warnings each time they pop in a film, but will be totally absent from pirated downloads and bootlegs). It's to educate everyone else. As ICE Director John Morton announced in a statement yesterday, "Law enforcement must continue to expand how it combats criminal activity; public awareness and education are a critical part of that effort."

Source:

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http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/05/dvds-and-blu-rays-will-now-carry-two-unskippable-government-warnings/

EthrielTD · 05-11-12 at 08:37 AM

Dude, if I could download a car, I would.

**PopSmith** · 05-11-12 at 08:38 AM

All the more reason to download movies since this crap is removed from "pirated" releases.

worldstone · 05-11-12 at 08:38 AM

I really don't get it. Either they are warning people who buy not to pirate, which is admitting to everyone that people who pirate also buy. Or they are warning people not to pirate through a method a pirate would never be able to witness.

It just doesn't make any sense.

**FirtY** · 05-11-12 at 08:42 AM

I figure it's a form of conditioning.

hybridwar · 05-11-12 at 08:47 AM

Disney releases are already worst than this!!! And adding these will make it even uglier!

**L1b3rta** · 05-11-12 at 08:56 AM

I don't see a reason for implementing 'non-skippable' anti piracy message other than to piss paying customers off. And ironically this message won't be enforced on pirates, so to who are they trying to get the point across again?

**purehatred** · 05-11-12 at 09:01 AM

No point there..i will still remux bluray movies and they obviously wont have that crap in them :)

madman7 · 05-11-12 at 09:36 AM

not for nothing but, this crap never held any one back, whats the use of adding another layer of BS just to ignore again? well Im sure they make money for that crap in some way or form from the industry or DVD/blu-ray and others.

soon there will be 15 warnings and 30 min of movies! lol nah jk jk.... I hope!!

**BlueDragonFire** · 05-11-12 at 09:45 AM

I can see them interrupting movies every 20-30 minutes with a similar warning in the future.

It's like those idiotic government PSA's about doing drugs. Those who do drugs obviously don't give a d@mn and the PSA's are pretty much wasted on those who wouldn't do drugs anyway.

Anything to keep the public believing their government is actually accomplishing something I suppose.

Peace to you and yours,
Matthew "Dra'Gon" Stohler

<-- Consider it clicked!

**rockyrocks** · 05-11-12 at 10:32 AM

BDF.. I'd say those PSA's are to educate people and thats how advertising for commercial products works too isnt it??.. people don't learn or know about things in a single go.. when you keep pushing things into their view they remember stuff.. And PSA's on drugs work for sure..

But this is just BS.. even If I am watching an original I usually do other stuff until the initial credits are gone.. + its in such small print..they only know what they were trying to accomplish with this.. :P

**666wrathchild666** · 05-11-12 at 10:43 AM

I'm still trying to figure out what the hell homeland security has anything to do with piracy. Unless of course piracy is a big threat to the safety of Americans.

tech3475 · 05-11-12 at 10:43 AM

I think this sums it up nicely:

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http://kosmictech.com/external/funny/piratedvd.jpg

Please remember to code tag any external links, an easy way is to highlight your links and press the "#" button on the toolbar.
Or you can manually type in the code tags... [code]Links[/code]
[url] tags need to be removed from links as they make the links live (click-able), they do not display correctly & send a referrer when clicked ie our site details get sent to the other site which can be problematic

TheWang

hybridwar · 05-11-12 at 10:57 AM

"tech3475"

EXCELLENT!

05-11-12 at 10:43 AM	#13
tech3475 Newcomer Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 9	I think this sums it up nicely: Code: Select All http://kosmictech.com/external/funny/piratedvd.jpg Please remember to code tag any external links, an easy way is to highlight your links and press the "#" button on the toolbar. Or you can manually type in the code tags... [code]Links[/code] [url] tags need to be removed from links as they make the links live (click-able), they do not display correctly & send a referrer when clicked ie our site details get sent to the other site which can be problematic TheWang Last edited by TheWang; 05-11-12 at 11:20 AM.

05-11-12 at 08:37 AM	#2
EthrielTD Newcomer Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 48	Dude, if I could download a car, I would.

05-11-12 at 08:38 AM	#3
PopSmith Elder Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: 山で Posts: 2,538	All the more reason to download movies since this crap is removed from "pirated" releases.

05-11-12 at 08:38 AM	#4
worldstone Newcomer Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 95	I really don't get it. Either they are warning people who buy not to pirate, which is admitting to everyone that people who pirate also buy. Or they are warning people not to pirate through a method a pirate would never be able to witness. It just doesn't make any sense.

05-11-12 at 08:42 AM	#5
FirtY Elder Join Date: May 2009 Location: Eire Posts: 2,972	I figure it's a form of conditioning.

05-11-12 at 08:47 AM	#6
hybridwar Apprentice Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 256	Disney releases are already worst than this!!! And adding these will make it even uglier!

05-11-12 at 08:56 AM	#7
L1b3rta Guru Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 6,051	I don't see a reason for implementing 'non-skippable' anti piracy message other than to piss paying customers off. And ironically this message won't be enforced on pirates, so to who are they trying to get the point across again?

05-11-12 at 09:01 AM	#8
purehatred Best Remuxer Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 2,525	No point there..i will still remux bluray movies and they obviously wont have that crap in them :)

05-11-12 at 09:36 AM	#9
madman7 Apprentice Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 412	not for nothing but, this crap never held any one back, whats the use of adding another layer of BS just to ignore again? well Im sure they make money for that crap in some way or form from the industry or DVD/blu-ray and others. soon there will be 15 warnings and 30 min of movies! lol nah jk jk.... I hope!!

05-11-12 at 09:45 AM	#10
BlueDragonFire I plead INSANITY! Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Eville, Indiana, USA, Psychotic State Posts: 1,779	I can see them interrupting movies every 20-30 minutes with a similar warning in the future. It's like those idiotic government PSA's about doing drugs. Those who do drugs obviously don't give a d@mn and the PSA's are pretty much wasted on those who wouldn't do drugs anyway. Anything to keep the public believing their government is actually accomplishing something I suppose. Peace to you and yours, Matthew "Dra'Gon" Stohler <-- Consider it clicked!

05-11-12 at 10:32 AM	#11
rockyrocks Elite Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,392	BDF.. I'd say those PSA's are to educate people and thats how advertising for commercial products works too isnt it??.. people don't learn or know about things in a single go.. when you keep pushing things into their view they remember stuff.. And PSA's on drugs work for sure.. But this is just BS.. even If I am watching an original I usually do other stuff until the initial credits are gone.. + its in such small print..they only know what they were trying to accomplish with this.. :P

05-11-12 at 10:43 AM	#12
666wrathchild666 Elite Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: USA Posts: 1,544	I'm still trying to figure out what the hell homeland security has anything to do with piracy. Unless of course piracy is a big threat to the safety of Americans.

05-11-12 at 10:57 AM	#14
hybridwar Apprentice Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 256	"tech3475" EXCELLENT!