I’ve noticed a subtle change in the obligatory FBI warning featured on DVDs lately.

There’s a new official seal and text:

Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Notice anything new? Here’s the classic text to jog your memory:

There are two changes: one is that the new seal/text is generic, making no mention of the type of media (the new seal will also be used on games and other works) but the far more interesting change is the “without monetary gain” clause.

Clearly, someone wants to put those who rip and share on notice that even if they don’t make any money from the duplication, the FBI could still come knocking.

That is, if they actually had the time to visit several million Internet users.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 20th, 2005 at 11:54 pm and is filed under Film.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.