Possibly pirated DVD's?

[jealphak]

Hi - I have a quick question I need some (name removed by moderator)ut on. I recently ordered a set of DVDs of a tv show online. I did a google search for the boxed set of all the seasons out so far, and on the first page came a website. I decided it looked okay - it appeared to have Verisign. Anyway, even though it felt a little sketchy, I ordered the DVDs anyway - it was about half off. Being naive, I thought this was just a great deal. However, after receiving the DVds I believe they may be pirated. They were shipped from China and the packaging just screams bootleg. Am I morally obliged not to watch these? I don’t want to be stealing money from the television company that produced these. It seems pretty clear that I can’t return them, so would I have to order a whole new set from Amazon or someplace clearly more legitimate? I bought them precisely so I could watch them and not feel guilty - but now I’m afraid I’m breaking copyright laws and stealing from the tv company. Any thoughts?

 

[Gerry_Hunter]

Perhaps you should tell your story to the authorities. Copyright violations are a serious concern in the area of commercial crime, and it may help shut a source of it down.

Of course, if they want the discs as evidence, you would have to let them have them. But if they did not want them, it seems to me you could use them guilt free.

The prices of these things varies wildly even from legitimate sources. So yes, half price is a good deal, but in my experience, nothing unheard of. The mark-up can be so high that there’s plenty of room to come down, particularly on items that have been around for a while. So I don’t think there’s an airtight case that you were “naive.”

Blessings,

Gerry

 

[SophiaLector]

Gerry’s on the right track. You paid for them not knowing they were pirated – no sin on your part. Inform the authorities and if asked, hand the discs over with the website info and the invoice.

And go to Amazon in the future. LOL!