So far, Smash has traced the counterfeit discs to three local California distributors, but it is not convinced the trail ends there. Smash hired legal counsel to help pinpoint the origin of the fake DVDs and plans to prosecute violators to the fullest extent of the law.
Wall told XBIZ that to his knowledge, only Smash’s 70 compilation DVDs were illegally copied. Smash sells its comp titles to distributors for $2, which are then sold for $9.95 retail, which is why Wall found their duplication a curious choice, since new releases have a higher selling price.
Upon receiving a bootlegged title, Wall could not instantly tell it was a fake from the packaging. Once he opened the case, the interior told a different story.
“They were obviously bootlegs. The DVD case and [art] sleeve look real, but it had a faint copy for the disk art and they were duplicated on cheap blue DVD-Rs, the same ones you can get at Best Buy,” Wall told XBIZ. “At this stage, I’m asking all our distributors that are stocking these bootleg versions to return them to the source they bought them from so they don’t get in trouble for selling them.”
Wall said the company’s next step was to follow the code on the back of the bootlegged DVDs to track down where the discs were replicated. He said his biggest concern was protecting the Smash Pictures name.
“I hope anyone who purchases these discs will realize they are not official DVDs from Smash Pictures,” Wall said. “Smash is known for the quality of our productions and our packaging so I don’t want this incident to damage our standing in the marketplace. We will do everything in our power to make sure these pirates are brought to justice.”
Smash Pictures is encouraging any distributors, retailers or customers to contact the company if they discover counterfeit discs. Wall can be reached toll-free at (866) 772-7219.
