New figures reveal pirate DVD production within the UK has increased 133 %,A New £1m Awareness Campaign Launched Today by DVD industry aimed at highlighting involvement of serious criminals behind DVD piracy

The DVD industry is launching a major new campaign today to highlight the involvement of serious criminals behind the seemingly innocuous DVD pirates.

New statistics released today from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) highlight that pirate DVDs are increasingly being produced within the UK, rather than imported from abroad. Seizures of DVD-Rs in the UK shot up by a massive 133% in the first half of 2005 compared with the same period in 2004, reaching 386,569 units.

This increase is an indication that the criminal gangs involved in DVD piracy have got more organised and are now producing the disks from within the UK, rather than importing them from abroad in order to stay ahead of the game by trying to evade detection at British ports.

Pirate DVD buyers in the 15-21 age group were the only group to have increased on the 2004 figures, increasing by 6 per cent to 24 per cent. All other age groups who bought pirate DVDs decreased or stayed the same.

For more information on this new campaign visit www.piracyisacrime.com