HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) It hasn’t been released yet and it’s already causing headaches. Despite the unprecedented security measures taken at press and test screenings, pirated copies of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” have surfaced, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Investigators from Britain’s Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) have found about 100 video CD copies of the film during a raid on a market site near the town of Bridgenorth in England on Sunday. They’ve arrested 35 people in what was described as a major operation by FACT officials including police, local council trading standards officers, computer games and music industry copyright watchdogs.
“People have been going into this market for a few weeks, filming the pirates and carrying out test purchases,” said FACT senior investigator Roger Hamilton.
In Dartford, officials discovered 150 DVD copies of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” but no “Lord of the Rings” because, according to the vendor, the quality was too poor.