Tag Archives: bootlegs

South Carolina Man Arraigned for Pirating Song of the South

Of interest was an article published today in “The Post and Courier” of Charlston, South Carolina:

Richard Montague Powell, 66, was arraigned Tuesday in federal court in Charleston on charges that he made up to $250,000 by pirating copies of Walt Disney’s motion picture “Song of the South.”

If convicted of violating federal copyright laws, Powell faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

A search of Powell’s residence turned up hundreds of unauthorized copies of the motion picture on DVD and VHS, according to U.S. Attorney Strom Thurmond Jr. Numerous firearms also were seized.

Powell may have netted a small fortune — as much as $250,000 — from sales of the movie over a three-year period, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The entire article is available to read online (free registration required). Thanks to Eric of the Song of the South Enthusiasts Group for informing us of this news!

Disney.com’s Search Engine Features Bootleg Song of the South Sites

Disney and the MPAA have put a lot of effort into suppressing web sites that offer Song of the South on video and DVD. Unbeknownst to them, people have been able to find these sources through Disney.com’s very own search engine!

In what I can only describe as the most deliciously ironic thing I’ve ever seen, a reader has pointed out that when one searches for “Song of the South” on Disney.com, web sites offering bootleg (illegal) copies of the movie prominently fill the “sponsored links” area of the search results page.

Apparently, Disney.com’s search engine uses sponsored links from Google.com. Google’s sponsored links have long been a popular choice for sites selling illegal copies of Song of the South. Now, I know for a fact that Disney Worldwide Services visits my web site on a fairly regular basis, (Hi guys!), so it will be interesting to see how quickly action is taken on this.

(Update: To date, no action has been taken.)

Disney Cracks Down on eBay Song of the South Video Sales

As noted by one eBay seller, Disney is enforcing its U.S. embargo on Song of the South now more than ever. We all know that bootlegs are taboo, but this particular seller was offering official, out-of-print Great Britain PAL format tapes on eBay, which were promptly removed by Disney’s order. Disney even goes so far as to include Song of the South specifically in their VeRO FAQ:

“Q. What about Song of the South?”
“A. Song of the South has not been released for distribution in the United States in any home viewing format. Any listing that offers any video, VCD or DVD of Song of the South for sale in the United States may be suspended. Any listing that offers Song of the South ‘converted’ for viewing on NTSC video players or Zone 1 DVD players is an illegal copy.”

Apparently, since the Great Britain PAL format tape was not released in the U.S., it cannot be sold FROM WITHIN the U.S. This would not prevent a seller in Great Britain from offering the tape to a United States bidder, however.

One other seller who tried to sell the rare Japanese VHS NTSC official release on eBay several months ago also had his auction suspended for the same reason. However, he had purchased the tape from the Imports section of Tower Video in Atlanta, Georgia back in 1996, so technically his video was sold in the United States! He was allowed to relist the video without further issue.