MPAA training Dogs to Sniff Out DVDs

[BJ_M]

"The dogs, Lucky and Flo, faced their first test at the FedEx UK hub at Stansted Airport. "FedEx was glad to assist in Lucky and Flo's first live test in a working situation. They were amazingly successful at identifying packages containing DVDs, which were opened and checked by HM Customs' representatives. While all were legitimate shipments on the day, our message to anyone thinking about shipping counterfeit DVDs through the FedEx network is simple: you're going to get caught." Kinda makes me thing twice about shipping anything through FedEX. Seriously, this is like training drug dogs to find plastic bags."


http://www.spacegrinder.com/article8.html

[fritzi93]

Kinda late for April Fool jokes, isn't it?

I'm having a hard time believing this.

[BJ_M]

nope - it is real ...

the MPAA even just now put up a press release

http://mpaa.org/press_releases/2006_05_09.pdf

[VegasBud]

Yep, there it is, right on mpaa.org at the top right under "Latest News and Issues"-
"WORLD FIRST AS DOGS TRAINED TO DETECT DVDS".

I'm having a hard time believing this.

No kidding. It might be a good time for the mpaa to run some psych evaluation tests on their people.

[painkiller]

So.

They'd rather release the hounds than to release good movies?

[ROF]

I guess they'll have to start packing discs in coffee beans instead of soy peanuts.

"Enjoy a free fresh brew with each counterfeit purchase."

[NiteLite]

So...I make a home made family video...send it to other family & friends...the dogs sniff it, customs open it , someone has said one of the "code" words, FBI called in and I'm shipped off to some prison in Cuba and never see the light of day again. Well that's just great.
Fed-Ex sucks in my area anyway. UPS is great but will they soon follow suit.....

[d_unbeliever]

ya read this in a newspaper. if i remember right they are trying it on an airport

[InXess]

This proves again that there is no limit to stupidity. What's next MP3 sniffing rats?
I can already see the headlines "Family jailed for trafficking 5 DVDs"...

[Morse2]

Some thoughts:

1. I wonder how scientific the actual "test" was - after all, isn't the characteristic bubble-mailer packaging on most DVD's pretty much a giveaway as to the contents? I'd like to see how the dogs did when an actual attempt was made to disguise the contents. Are they just recognizing the shape of the mailer, or if I grind a DVD to powder and mail it in a small squarish box will they "detect" it? Come to think of it, given the quality of Hollywood's recent efforts, perhaps grinding all of their latest releases to a fine powder prior to releasing them on the market would be for the best. Hey! Maybe this is a marketable DRM idea! I sense a patent coming on.....

2. Good to know that the resources of the world's governments are hard at work on serious crimes like the smuggling of dodgy DVD's, while less important issues like combatting the lesser evils of the illicit drug trade and international terrorism are put on the back burner where they belong.

3. Strikes me that as soon as the MPAA's press hacks headed home it was back to business as usual (i.e. if 500 DVD mailers came through in a one hour period, there's no way they would all be opened and given a rigorous inspection to determine if each pressed DVD was a legit copy or a well made counterfeit...unless FedEx wants it's 'expedited service' to become a joke).

4. Since they're only checking individual mail, not cargo containers on freighters packed with God-only-knows-what, the real pirates will as usual remain safe.

Morse

[drjtech]

1. I wonder how scientific the actual "test" was - after all, isn't the characteristic bubble-mailer packaging on most DVD's pretty much a giveaway as to the contents? I'd like to see how the dogs did when an actual attempt was made to disguise the contents. Are they just recognizing the shape of the mailer, ...

Did you actually read the article?

The dogs were trained over an eight month period to identify DVDs that may be located in boxes, envelopes or other packaging, as well as discs concealed amongst other goods which could be sold illegally in the UK.

Why train dogs to recognize shapes? Even minimum wage humanoids could do that. Dogs are trained to recognize scents.

-drj

[adam]

Well, I don't really see what the problem is. One of Custom's main jobs is to find bootlegs. They have always done this by searching large shipments and doing random searches on all others. DVD sniffing dogs let them make their searches less random. They can screen out all the packages that the dogs don't smell. This should actually result in LESS packages being searched.

[atillman]

I suppose if everyone shipped one blank disk or an old coaster with every fed ex package the dogs and the customs agents would be too busy and they would have to scrap the whole idea.

[Morse2]

Hmmm, didn't think I'd be flame bait!

Yes, I did read the original article before it was even posted here, and no where does it say the dogs were properly trained to find concealed disks. The MPAA's pdf article makes the claim that the dogs can find a concealed disk - but I've seen a lot of spurious claims in the scientific community that were far better documented than that one! Since the whole thing strikes me as a publicity stunt, I treated it as such. I remain skeptical.

>>>...Why train dogs to recognize shapes? Even minimum wage humanoids could do that. Dogs are trained to recognize scents...<<<

Dogs can indeed notice things other than what we want them to, and if their training is not carried out properly, then no matter what you think you are teaching them, it just isn't so. Since the MPAA is carrying out their training as part of what appears to be a (pardon the pun) "dog and pony show" I remain skeptical. Could a dog be trained to recognize the smell of the chemicals involved in disk pressing? Certainly. Have they been properly trained to do so before being put before the cameras? Hmmmmm.

Hi Adam;

>>>...Well, I don't really see what the problem is. One of Custom's main jobs is to find bootlegs...<<<

Certainly it's all part of the job, and I've no problem with Customs carrying out their lawful duties - quite to the contrary, I would be very happy to see genuine criminals put out of business.

There is however a questions of emphasis. In the US we don't have the government resources to carry out a lot of other jobs properly, like individually screening every one of the thousands of bulk cargo containers for illicit drugs, weapons, etc. that enter this country daily. Thus the idea of dilution of our remaining forces for a special focus on bootlegs is somewhat troubling to me. Of course this is happening in the UK at the moment, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the MPAA perform similar publicity stunts stateside.

All the best,
Morse

[whitejremiah]

the whole problem i see with this, is people who DO ship stuff legitimately through fed-ex....say home movies or what have you...what right do they have to look through everyone's packages anyhow?

I suppose if everyone shipped one blank disk or an old coaster with every fed ex package the dogs and the customs agents would be too busy and they would have to scrap the whole idea.

GREAT idea...i vote everyone who reads this does exactly that...send one blank cdr or dvdr with everything you send fed ex......and make sure to somehow conceal it since they can appearently locate them when they are concealed.

[VegasBud]

I suppose if everyone shipped one blank disk or an old coaster with every fed ex package the dogs and the customs agents would be too busy and they would have to scrap the whole idea.

Why bother?

According to the Digital Entertainment Group there were more than 1.6 billion dvd-video shipments last year alone, and that's just for North America. Since that's the studios' numbers, you figure that number represents the disks sent to the wholesalers, who then have to re-distribute to the retailers, rental stores, etc. Now throw in all the dvd-+r-rw-ram disks being shipped and reshipped. You're talking about billions and billions of legitimate dvd's being shipped.

And what about the cd's? The main constituent of a dvd disk (polycarbonate) is the main constituent of a cd disk. Can the dogs tell the difference? Maybe, if they've been enhanced with bionic noses on a tv show.

Drug sniffing dogs only work because there aren't legal shipments of (illegal) drugs in the system. With billions of perfectly legal dvd's being shipped all over the place, dvd sniffing dogs are just an exercise in stupidity, insanity, or a combination of the two.

Or maybe it's just a publicity stunt, as Morse2 suggested.

[whitejremiah]

probably a publicity stunt, because i know TONS of people who do actually ship their home videos to other family members, that in combination with wholesalers of blank media...im sure they would be a might bit upset if EVERY shipment they sent out was delayed because it had to be searched...i do understand why they would want to protect their movies/music/whatever else, but this is a little bit over the top if you ask me...

[adam]

the whole problem i see with this, is people who DO ship stuff legitimately through fed-ex....say home movies or what have you...what right do they have to look through everyone's packages anyhow?

The "they" you are referring to is the US government and they certainly have the right to inspect packages crossing the border. Once again, packages are already searched for bootlegs, they always have been. It is one of the primary functions of the US Customs office. The dogs are being used to aid in this process. I honestly just don't see the problem. I guess the feeling that some of you have is that it is being assumed that any package with DVDs in it could contain bootlegs. But the alternative, without the dogs, is assuming that any package AT ALL could contain bootlegs.

In the US we don't have the government resources to carry out a lot of other jobs properly, like individually screening every one of the thousands of bulk cargo containers for illicit drugs, weapons, etc. that enter this country daily. Thus the idea of dilution of our remaining forces for a special focus on bootlegs is somewhat troubling to me.

There is no information whatsoever regarding the cost of training and implementing these dogs and there is nothing to suggest that implementing this program shifts time or resources away from other Custom duties. If it did then that would be something to consider, but its just pure speculation so what's the point? Logically I'd think this program would save time and money. They've already got dogs sniffing packages for drugs. I don't think it would take much more to train them to sniff out DVDs too and then that means you have to search less packages.

[adam]

Why bother?

According to the Digital Entertainment Group there were more than 1.6 billion dvd-video shipments last year alone, and that's just for North America... You're talking about billions and billions of legitimate dvd's being shipped.

Importers/exports are kept on file in the Customs office. They must undergo periodic audits of their shipping records. If their audits are consistently clean, as any media reseller's would have to be to stay in business, then their packages are generally given the green light across the board. These dogs aren't even going to be going near these types of shipments.

[mikel]

Maybe we would all be better off, if the doggies could sniff out bad movies
that are "bombs"

[ROF]

Maybe we would all be better off, if the doggies could sniff out bad movies
that are "bombs"

Isn't that why BitTorrent was created?

[oldandinthe way]

Will FEDEX refund the shipping charge if your shipment of home movies is late due to the MPAA's doggies?

[adam]

Will FEDEX refund the shipping charge if your shipment of home movies is late due to the MPAA's doggies?

Yes, FEDEX will refund or adjust the shipping charge, if packages are not delivered at the confirmed date, due to extended Customs clearance times, so long as the delay is not the fault of the shipper. But I really don't see how using dogs would delay a package more than not using them. Customs can and will search any package they feel like it. Whether they pick it because it sounds like DVDs when you shake it, or because their dogs alerted them to it, it still would take the same amount of time to verify the validity of the contents.

[BJ_M]

adam is right -- much is ALREADY inspected @ the border (more than what you suspect - though just a drop compared to everything moving across borders)


videos and film are already checked a lot to see if they are on the banned list(s) or child porn -- and this is in and out of the country in many cases .. (all video imported into the usa requires a form as to the content)

they are not looking for 1 and 2 disks or family disks etc ,. but bulk shipments of counterfeit media - the SAME way customs is currently checking for fake watches , luggage, clothes , etc ..

It does sound sorta funny - the headline -- and picturing all these dogs running around sniffing dvds ... but if you think about it - it is a normal course of business anyhow for customs ..

[honorarybrutha]

I just want to say......hang on.....there's a pack of dogs at my front door....I'll get back to you.

[RabidDog]

THe addendum to this is that the dogs will then **** thier leg to indicate a film containing either Eddy Nurphy or Jean Clod van Damme.

[BJ_M]

now thats funny

[fritzi93]

I have no doubt that Customs has an eye out for pirated DVDs, etc. But I should think more mundane methods would suffice.

For a dog to recognize polycarbonate by smell, it would have to distinguish some substance that would leach and/or hydrolyze from the polycarbonate. The obvious candidate would be Bisphenol A, an aromatic organic compound which is the main building block of the polycarbonate chain. The trouble is, phenols are in a staggering variety of products. You'd have to train a dog to react ONLY to that specific phenol. Then again, polycarbonates as such are in many other products besides DVDs and CDs.

Plus the whole idea is mildly ridiculous. I wonder how much that would cost to implement seriously?

So yeah, I think it's a stunt.

[pchan]

Poor dogs !

Being human's best friend !

Dogs' have to snif drugs .. and now DVDs....

One thing for sure... DVD is a lot less harmful to the dogs.

[painkiller]

Oddly enough, even if it is a stunt - and a true one - we have seen articles of the RIAA reaping financial rewards of many folks sued by them caving in and settling out-of-court.

While I haven't seen anyone here do any math on this subject - it would appear the RIAA is making more money through certain specific actions on their part without selling product to get it.

I sure would like to see their books on all this.