For three months the Pacific arm of the Motion Picture Association and popular "digital wallet" PayPal monitored illicit sales of counterfeit Blu-ray and DVD movies that implemented the latter's transactional payments services. The duo announced this week that the operation succeeded in closing dozens of PayPal merchants' accounts for blatant terms of service violations.
According to the news release (.PDF), the pair discovered a rash of counterfeiters operating out of China who would sell and ship pirated discs around the world.
The joint effort was ostensibly jump-started by the MPA after it contacted PayPal about the shady activity said Julie Bainbridge, the company's Brand Risk Management boss. Bainbridge championed the undertaking as not just a crackdown on illicit service usage but a defense of legit members' security.
"Our action today sends a strong message to all criminals that PayPal does not tolerate such illegal activity on our global payment platform and we work closely with industry organizations, like the MPA, who alerted us to these intellectual property right violations," she said. "This operation also sends a reassuring signal to our users that their PayPal purchases are more trustworthy and secure. While the vast majority of business conducted on our platform is legitimate, we will investigate any and all reported violations of our acceptable use policy."
Mike Ellis, MPA Asia Pacific President, said he was "very pleased" by the results of the operation and applauded PayPal for its help and "immediate" action. "PayPal has once again shown itself to be a consistent and reliable partner in the fight against copyright theft," he said.
The MPAA also offered its thanks.
"Payment processors like PayPal recognize that their business models rely on gaining consumers' trust, and that their brands are tarnished when counterfeit goods are available for sale through their payment system," wrote Howard Gantman, Vice President of Corporate Communications, at the organization's official blog on Wednesday. "We can only eradicate the scourge of online theft if all stakeholders in the online ecosystem work together."
There's been no confirmation whether any legal action will be pursued by either the MPA or PayPal.
