MPAA sends in the dogs

PIRATE-HUNTERS have trained dogs to sniff out counterfeit DVDs in the intensifying war on digital piracy.

As part of a project promoted by the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA), the UK's Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), has been training of two black Labradors to sniff out fake DVDs.

The dogs, named Lucky and Flo, have proved a "highly effective means of detection for counterfeit discs" according to one MPAA official.

But, after an eight-month training period, none of the packages and parcels the dogs sniffed out on their first visit to Stansted Airport turned out to be fake. "All were legitimate," confessed a FedEx spokesman. Raymond Leinster Director General of FACT reckons this is the first time dogs have been used anywhere in the world to search for counterfeit DVDs. "The results were amazing," he said.

A customs official said the dogs were "one of a number of powerful tools in detecting organized crime." µ