MPAA's Bootleg-Sniffing Wonder Dogs On Pirates' Hit List, Apparently

from the scooby-snacks dept

The MPAA’s sniffer dogs, custom-trained to pick up the scent of DVDs and CDs, supposedly helped find $3 million worth of fake DVDs (though that figure came from the MPAA, so it’s probably not very accurate) in Malaysia this week. As we pointed out the other day, these dogs aren’t much more than a publicity stunt, since they’re essentially canine false-positive machines. But the MPAA is giving them full credit, as they supposedly helped find a million pirated discs hidden in an office building, along with duplicating machines and other equipment. Perhaps that’s a little too much credit, since it seems unlikely that the dogs were just out for a walk and hit on the building, but things get a bit more bizarre when an MPAA official claims that the pirate group whose operation got busted has put a bounty out on the dogs, offering an unspecified reward to anybody who kills them. The MPAA must be ecstatic — now they’re not just bootleg-sniffing wonder dogs, they’re danger-dodging superhero bootleg-sniffing wonder dogs who work under life-threatening conditions! Cower in fear, DVD pirates! Never mind, of course, that file-sharing is probably doing more to stop physical piracy than Lucky and Flo.


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Comments on “MPAA's Bootleg-Sniffing Wonder Dogs On Pirates' Hit List, Apparently”

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24 Comments
Sanguine Dream says:

Hold on...

On the generous assumption that there really was $3mil in bootleg DVDs lets do some math.

$3mil / $20 per DVD = 150000

You mean to tell me that after going into a building to look for bootleg DVDs and bootlegging equipment they needed dogs to find 150000 DVDs and copying equipment?

And one more thing: MPAA has authority to perform searches in Malaysia?

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: Hold on...

Even more simple than that how would the dogs have known the difference between 150000 bootleg cds/dvds and 75000 legit cds/dvds and a 1 copy for each of them?

I have still yet to hear an explanation as to how these dogs differentiate legit cds/dvds from bootlegs. Because the first time one of those dogs sniffs a legit cd and the MPAA tries to take someone to court over the logic of, “well out dogs sniffed it out so it must be an illegal copy” we all know what comes next. The MPAA will try to sue the owner but when it comes to light that the cd in question is legit the MPAA will spin it as the dogs’ fault (allowing them to drop the suit with no penalty) and have the poor things put down…slimey bastards

Extreme Centrist says:

Re: Hold on...

This is too funny… I wonder how they obtained a warrant for the dogs to do their “search”? Or did they just barge in on a hunch because Malaysia doesn’t provide any due process protection (which I doubt)? On the other hand, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.” H. L. Mencken

dorpus says:

Easy way to kill dogs

Trident and Carefree Koolerz contain Xylitol, a naturally occurring sugar that is extremely toxic to dogs. Dogs which ingest products sweetened with xylitol may experience insulin-mediated low blood sugar hypoglycemia, possibly resulting in loss of coordination, depression, collapse and seizures as soon as 30 minutes after ingestion. One case occurred in a standard poodle that ate five or six sweetened cookies. Xylitol can also cause liver failure and coagulopathy (failure of blood clotting) in dogs. Dogs that have eaten products sweetened with xylitol, including some sugar free gums, baked goods and tooth pastes, need immediate medical attention even if they are not showing illness. Sick dogs (vomiting, weak, seizuring, etc) are likely to need aggressive veterinary treatment and close monitoring of blood values.

August West says:

This is the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard in my life. A dog found an entire factory the authorities had no clue existed. And we are supposed to believe it. What a bunch of morons.

Hey my dog can smell office bureauocracy and politics. If you don’t believe me, how about this? Last time I took him for a walk uptown, he walked right up to the Bank Of America Building and sniffed it. Then, only 1 block later, he sniffed along the wall of the BB&T building. What do you think of that?

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