Pirate Tactics

In China, bootleggers selling 75 cent DVDs dominate 95 percent of the market. Studios have sought to combat the trend for years. Illegal rip-offs cost them $3.8 billion last year alone. Their latest plan? Slash the price of DVDs in China in half. New DVDs in China are already cheap, about $3. But Time Warner ...

In China, bootleggers selling 75 cent DVDs dominate 95 percent of the market. Studios have sought to combat the trend for years. Illegal rip-offs cost them $3.8 billion last year alone. Their latest plan? Slash the price of DVDs in China in half. New DVDs in China are already cheap, about $3. But Time Warner is reducing the price further, to $1.50 or less, and releasing movies in as little as 15 days after the theater runs. The move, says Ralph Tribbey, editor of DVD Release Report, could result in a reverse black market with people "buying them off the streets for a buck and half over there, and dumping it here for 9 dollars." If you can't beat them, copy them.

In China, bootleggers selling 75 cent DVDs dominate 95 percent of the market. Studios have sought to combat the trend for years. Illegal rip-offs cost them $3.8 billion last year alone. Their latest plan? Slash the price of DVDs in China in half. New DVDs in China are already cheap, about $3. But Time Warner is reducing the price further, to $1.50 or less, and releasing movies in as little as 15 days after the theater runs. The move, says Ralph Tribbey, editor of DVD Release Report, could result in a reverse black market with people "buying them off the streets for a buck and half over there, and dumping it here for 9 dollars." If you can’t beat them, copy them.

Davide Berretta is a researcher at Foreign Policy.

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.