Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
If someone reported a street vendor selling pirated dvds, can the police get a search warrant to search the street vendors home? To be more specific: If there was an unhappy customer who bought pirated dvd's from a street vendor selling from his car, and the unhappy customer wrote down the license plates of the street vendor. Can the police get a search warrant to search the street vendor's home if the unhappy customer went to the police and reported the license plates of the street vendor and gave the pirated dvd's to the police?
3 Answers from Attorneys
If you discovered the DVDs you bought are pirated, you could call the police, and maybe they would take an interest and maybe not. Certainly they could get a search warrant if they wanted to because (duh) it's a crime to sell pirated DVDs. But if I wanted the guy busted for sure I would sic the MPAA on him.
The other attorney is right on point here. The police are very busy with more serious stuff and are not likely to get involved. But you never know - it just may be a slow crime day. Consult with an attorney in your area for specifics.
Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise
Franchise Attorney
Pirated DVDs are a form of copyright infringement, which comes under the jurisdiction of the FBI, not the local police. (Did you ever notice the FBI warning at the beginning of every DVD made?) If you suspect that someone is selling pirated DVDs, contact the FBI and give them whatever information you have. They have units who are assigned full time to investigating copyright piracy. Unlike some of the other respondents to this question, the FBI considers this a serious crime and will take it seriously. If you are a copyright owner, you may also sue for civil damages--statutory damages are up to $150,000 PER COPY made, a hefty deterrent and well worth any qualified litigator's time.
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