Insiders Main Source of Movie Piracy.

Insiders Main Source of Movie Piracy.

Leaky studios, projection booths, postproduction facilities cited.

By Paul Sweeting 9/15/03

SEPT. 15 | Online movie piracy is an inside job, according to a new
study by AT&T Labs.

The study, the first to try to quantify the origins of movie files found
on peer-to-peer networks, found that 77% of the files could be traced to
inside sources--either leaks from the studios themselves, postproduction
facilities or theater projection booths.

Only 5% of the online movie files examined could be traced to
commercially released DVDs.

The study examined 285 sample files, comprising 183 different movies
that ranked among the top 50 box-office releases during an 18-month
period beginning in January 2002.

All the files in the study were listed on content verification sites on
the Internet that index movie files available on peer-to-peer networks
according to their quality, date of first appearance and file size.
Files typically appear on verification sites within a day to several
weeks after they first appear on peer-to-peer sites.

All copies of a movie uploaded onto peer-to-peer networks contain a
unique identifier, called a checksum. All identical copies of the same
movie have the same checksum.

The identifier makes it possible to follow the original copy of a film
as it's reproduced across the network. Sometimes, more than one original
is uploaded to a network.

By tracking the files according to their identifiers, the researchers
said they were able to determine the likely source of each original.

Of the 285 copies sampled in the study, 220 could be traced ultimately
to inside sources.

A movie file was classified as "insider" if it appeared on the Internet
before the film's release in theaters; if the copy had editing room
artifacts or incomplete editing; if it contained industry markings or
text, such as the spoiler text found on many video screeners; if it had
video captured by a camcorder but contained direct-captured audio,
suggesting it was created in a projection booth; or if it was plainly
made from a DVD source before the DVD release date.

The study also examined how quickly new movies appear on the Internet.

On average, the 285 sample files in the study appeared on content
verification sites 100 days after the films' theatrical release and 83
days before their DVD release.

Since listing on a content verification site often lags a copy's first
appearance on the Internet, the real lag time from theatrical release
was probably somewhat shorter, the study's author noted.

Those with clear watermarks or text, indicating a studio source,
appeared on the Internet in an average of 52 days.

The study also found some studios to be leakier than others.

Of the 18 Universal titles released theatrically during the course of
the study, 83% found their way to the Internet. Warner Bros. released 37
titles during the study, with 78% finding their way to the Web. Among
the other majors, 67% of Paramount releases were pirated, 70% of
Columbia titles, 59% of Buena Vista titles and 60% of Fox releases.

The study recommended that studios become much more strict in policing
the flow of work prints of films during the production and
postproduction process.

"While increased physical security at screenings, watermarking and other
technologies are laudable and often effective, they fail fundamentally
to address insider threats," the report said. "There is an implicit
assumption that all employees of the studio and production and
distribution services are trusted. Any misbehavior of a single employee
can nullify all the best practices and well-placed trust throughout the
content distribution process."

MPAA officials said Monday that they were still reviewing the study and
had no immediate comment.

http://www.videobusiness.com/article...2&catType=NEWS

Scot Gardner

"Scot Gardner" <> wrote in message
news:20030916111418.456$...

> Of the 18 Universal titles released theatrically during the course of
> the study, 83% found their way to the Internet. Warner Bros. released 37

Maybe they should treat their employees better.

> to address insider threats," the report said. "There is an implicit
> assumption that all employees of the studio and production and
> distribution services are trusted. Any misbehavior of a single employee
> can nullify all the best practices and well-placed trust throughout the
> content distribution process."

That assumption means the consumer must put up with onerous security
systems. When will they learn to stop blaming and abusing their customers?

Steve

Steve Knoblock