Politicos ban video/DVD parallel imports
Time limit nine months after int'l release
The move, announced Dec. 13, finally protects franchised distributors against competition from retailers who import product months before the legitimate releases and, in some cases, while films are still playing theatrically.
It comes after a review of the impact of parallel importing, which has been rampant since a 1998 change in copyright legislation.
The action provides users a wider range of choice -- about 10,000 U.S. (Zone 1) DVD titles are available while the legitimate local list (Zone 4) is barely 500 -- but has hurt distributors' theatrical and homevid takings.
Authorized distributors had long lobbied for the law, which goes into effect mid-2002. But consumer groups and the affected importers have attacked it, saying DVD importing will go underground and that consumers will buy through the Internet.
The government has excluded software, CDs and books from the legal reform, pending the findings of a three-year review.
