In recent years, Parkland has been receiving an increasing number of DVDs from member libraries for processing that turn out to be counterfeits. Since counterfeit movies and TV shows are in violation of copyright laws, we should not and cannot catalogue them. This would open Parkland and the member libraries up to copyright infringement liability. The best way to approach this is to educate yourself on how to spot counterfeits so that valuable funds are not spent on fakes.
When you are buying your DVDs online or in person, there are a few things you should look out for…
- Who is shipping or selling the item? For Amazon purchases, look for “ships from and sold by Amazon.ca” or “fulfilled by Amazon.ca”. These are usually good indicators of legitimacy.
- Does the item listing have detailed information? Legitimate copies usually will have information regarding the format, language, subtitles, audio, etc. Looking at the product details section of any online retailer is a good place to find this information. It is worth noting that some older or less popular titles won’t have very much information in this section, even if they are legitimate copies.
- Read the reviews! If you are purchasing from Amazon or another online retailer, read the reviews on the product to determine if anyone else has had issues with counterfeiting.
- Image quality. Legitimate copies will not be pixelated (either the cover art or the film/show itself).
- Spelling errors. Check company names, titles, actors, etc.
- Consistent cover art for television shows. Check that the covers are consistent with the rest of the seasons.
- Has the title been released in Canada yet? You can visit IMDB or Google “X movie Canada release date” to get this information.
- Is the disc imported? Only Region 1 and/or NTSC DVDs play on North American DVD players. Importing a disc from another country may mean it won’t work with your patron’s devices.
- Is what you are looking for a streaming service original? Many popular TV shows and movies are released ONLY on streaming services and DVD copies are likely counterfeit. However, sometimes streaming studios will do a physical release of a popular show. Make sure to do your research before purchasing.
- Are there multiple listings for the same title?
- If there is a listing for a pre-order and a listing for an available title, there is a high chance of it being counterfeit (unless the pre-order is for a special edition release.)
- Do the prices differ between listings for the same format? Counterfeit items are often sold at lower prices.
Here is an example pulled from Amazon with the red flags highlighted.
This listing for a Bridgerton DVD has some obvious red flags right off the bat. This is a Netflix original show and unlikely to have been released on DVD. The name of the listing is lengthy and repetitive. The item is neither sold nor shipped by Amazon but rather a third party seller. The rating for this product is quite low.
When we scroll further, we see that the product details for this listing is practically empty. Also, it’s popularity/ranking is very low which is strange for a TV show that is super popular.
Finally, the item has multiple one and two star reviews claiming that the discs don’t work and that they are likely bad copies.
Hopefully this guide helps you with spotting and avoiding counterfeit DVDs in the future. If you are ever unsure, feel free to reach out to your consultant for a second opinion! Happy shopping!