MPAA's Bootleg-Sniffing Wonder Dogs On Pirates' Hit List, Apparently

from the scooby-snacks dept

Thu, Mar 22nd 2007 9:09pm — Carlo Longino

The MPAA's sniffer dogs, custom-trained to pick up the scent of DVDs and CDs, supposedly helped find $3 million worth of fake DVDs (though that figure came from the MPAA, so it's probably not very accurate) in Malaysia this week. As we pointed out the other day, these dogs aren't much more than a publicity stunt, since they're essentially canine false-positive machines. But the MPAA is giving them full credit, as they supposedly helped find a million pirated discs hidden in an office building, along with duplicating machines and other equipment. Perhaps that's a little too much credit, since it seems unlikely that the dogs were just out for a walk and hit on the building, but things get a bit more bizarre when an MPAA official claims that the pirate group whose operation got busted has put a bounty out on the dogs, offering an unspecified reward to anybody who kills them. The MPAA must be ecstatic -- now they're not just bootleg-sniffing wonder dogs, they're danger-dodging superhero bootleg-sniffing wonder dogs who work under life-threatening conditions! Cower in fear, DVD pirates! Never mind, of course, that file-sharing is probably doing more to stop physical piracy than Lucky and Flo.

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24 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 22 Mar 2007 @ 9:30pm

Share flies now!!!
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Sanguine Dream, 22 Mar 2007 @ 9:32pm

Hold on...
On the generous assumption that there really was $3mil in bootleg DVDs lets do some math.

$3mil / $20 per DVD = 150000

You mean to tell me that after going into a building to look for bootleg DVDs and bootlegging equipment they needed dogs to find 150000 DVDs and copying equipment?

And one more thing: MPAA has authority to perform searches in Malaysia?
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- Anonymous Coward, 23 Mar 2007 @ 7:58am
  
  Re: Hold on...
  Even more simple than that how would the dogs have known the difference between 150000 bootleg cds/dvds and 75000 legit cds/dvds and a 1 copy for each of them?
  
  I have still yet to hear an explanation as to how these dogs differentiate legit cds/dvds from bootlegs. Because the first time one of those dogs sniffs a legit cd and the MPAA tries to take someone to court over the logic of, "well out dogs sniffed it out so it must be an illegal copy" we all know what comes next. The MPAA will try to sue the owner but when it comes to light that the cd in question is legit the MPAA will spin it as the dogs' fault (allowing them to drop the suit with no penalty) and have the poor things put down...slimey bastards
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- Extreme Centrist, 23 Mar 2007 @ 9:46am
  
  Re: Hold on...
  This is too funny... I wonder how they obtained a warrant for the dogs to do their "search"? Or did they just barge in on a hunch because Malaysia doesn't provide any due process protection (which I doubt)? On the other hand, "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." H. L. Mencken
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- thomas fredrick, 11 Sep 2007 @ 9:02am
  
  Re: Hold on...
  H-m-m-m, let's see: The recording companies have their products manufactured/duplicated in SE Asia for pennies per unit using slave labor, sell them for $20 each, and give the recording artist 10 cents for 'royalties'?
  
  Makes you wonder who the *REAL* pirates are?
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Erv, 22 Mar 2007 @ 9:51pm

cds were probably planted
MPAA probably planted the cds along with some Alpo so the dogs could find them.
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dorpus, 22 Mar 2007 @ 10:33pm

Easy way to kill dogs
Trident and Carefree Koolerz contain Xylitol, a naturally occurring sugar that is extremely toxic to dogs. Dogs which ingest products sweetened with xylitol may experience insulin-mediated low blood sugar hypoglycemia, possibly resulting in loss of coordination, depression, collapse and seizures as soon as 30 minutes after ingestion. One case occurred in a standard poodle that ate five or six sweetened cookies. Xylitol can also cause liver failure and coagulopathy (failure of blood clotting) in dogs. Dogs that have eaten products sweetened with xylitol, including some sugar free gums, baked goods and tooth pastes, need immediate medical attention even if they are not showing illness. Sick dogs (vomiting, weak, seizuring, etc) are likely to need aggressive veterinary treatment and close monitoring of blood values.
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Reverend Davidius, 22 Mar 2007 @ 10:49pm

Re: Easy way to kill dogs
do alkaselters (i know, its spelled wrong) also kill dogs? i know they work well on seagulls. just slip a few of them in the Alpo...plop, plop, pop, pop
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Paul`, 22 Mar 2007 @ 11:27pm

Re: Re: Easy way to kill dogs
If you mean an antiacid tablet then i guess it wouldnt. They only work on birds because their guts are too small to take the gas that the tablets put out.
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fallen, 22 Mar 2007 @ 11:36pm

Re:Re: Re: Easy way to kill dogs
it actually works on birds because they cannot burp there for the gas builds up and *POP*
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Kyles mom, 23 Mar 2007 @ 12:18am

Can I borrow one of those dogs? I can't find my girls gone wild dvd.
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- powerpig, 23 Mar 2007 @ 5:23am
  
  Re: Kyles mom
  That's funny right there
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August West, 23 Mar 2007 @ 6:12am

This is the dumbest shit I've ever heard in my life. A dog found an entire factory the authorities had no clue existed. And we are supposed to believe it. What a bunch of morons.

Hey my dog can smell office bureauocracy and politics. If you don't believe me, how about this? Last time I took him for a walk uptown, he walked right up to the Bank Of America Building and sniffed it. Then, only 1 block later, he sniffed along the wall of the BB&T building. What do you think of that?
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The Swiss Cheese Monster, 23 Mar 2007 @ 6:15am

Wait, they only found $3mil worth of DVDs but found 1 million dvds in one location alone?

How much are they valuing these DVDs at? $3 each?
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Evil_Bastard, 23 Mar 2007 @ 6:18am

this is beyond stupid, it's cartoonishly stupid.
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Overcast, 23 Mar 2007 @ 6:53am

Reminds one of the Jack-booted thugs of the early 20th century....
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Claymore, 23 Mar 2007 @ 7:06am

for the exploding bird people...
http://www.enviroliteracy.org/asktheexpert.php/49.html
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- Sea Man, 23 Mar 2007 @ 12:18pm
  
  Re: for the exploding bird people...
  Awwww...you've ruin the fun :(
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billy, 23 Mar 2007 @ 7:27am

If I Had A Dog ..
I would teach him to sniff out bull shit.
Then I would take him to the RIAA and MPAA HQ, and MAN would that dog have a field day.
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Mar 2007 @ 8:37am

Do the dogs get hazzard pay now?
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Mar 2007 @ 10:18am

the pirate group whose operation got busted has put a bounty out on the dogs, offering an unspecified reward to anybody who kills them.
See? That just proves that DVD pirates are also terrorists! As such, terrorist rules should apply to their apprehension, detention, interrogation, and tribunal adjudication.
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August West, 23 Mar 2007 @ 5:52pm

Go here
alt.binaries.music.dvd
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leumas, 24 Mar 2007 @ 6:34am

paging PETA
paging PETA-- they're now killing the poor pooches which are trained to sniff out bootlegs-- send in the naked hottie stormtroopers NOW!
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rendom, 4 Feb 2009 @ 4:16am

megaupoad downloading
Need more files from Megaupload? Find “more” at http://megaupload.name/
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