It's a myth that buying fake DVDs or downloading illegal content is a victimless crime. Your most obvious concern about buying or accessing a knock-off film might be the poor sound and picture quality or that the film stops before the end, leaving you hanging. But scratch the surface and you'll find that fake DVDs and illegal downloads cause serious damage which affects a wide range of people trying hard to earn a living within the film industry.

Copyright theft is a big issue - for the consumer, for the film and TV industries and for communities. For legitimate businesses – the distributors and high street retailers who sell or rent DVDs – counterfeiting has a significant impact on profits. At present, 15% of the value of legitimate sales is lost to the problem. It doesn't just affect big business: these losses have a grave negative impact on the 150,000 people employed in the industry in the UK, contributing to rental and retail store closures, loss of jobs and a growing threat to future investment.