egafd.com

I quote from BGAFD video suppliers home pages:

?Except for our sponsors, many of the suppliers listed here actually sell pirate copies. This may apply to all or part of their lists. This is a regrettable but inevitable consequence of the legal situation in the UK.?

Well it should not be. OK you do try to qualify your endorsement of these sites but hang on! There is now no reason to feature sites selling pirate videos that includes those pirated ?off air?. Dr. Blues as well as Your Choice and some others sells only original material, nothing pirated, from recognised producers for which a fair price has to be paid. Why do you still allow pirates to advertise their stolen product through the BGAFD?
Not only does this damage the producer and times are hard enough now, it also deprives the very people this site is all about, namely the excellent models we have in this country, of work.
Come on guys, have the courage to get rid of these people, become more committed to your apparent ideals. Why tarnish the name of one of the most respected sources of knowledge, information and thought in the British porn scene. Can you imagine your counterparts in any other country, which has a legal porn business giving any time to those who take the living away from legal producers and distributors? We have enough trouble tracking down pirates without them being able to advertise under our noses. Lets get with it if we want a legal and professional porn business in this country, selling top quality product, we all need to support it.

Quite so. Hear, hear! And even "Here, Here", for those who prefer this phrase of indeterminable meaning.
George

How do you propose we police this matter?

I was going to say that where there is "reason to believe" that the products despatched are pirate copies, then their listing should be removed...

But what would consititute "reason to believe"?

If we are talking "word of mouth" reports, then I am afraid that this is open to abuse and corruption.... One misuguided individual could dirty the name of a genuine supplier and have their listing removed for whatever reason, I suppose it would not be beyone thought to believe that a supplier could quite easily sour the name of another supplier.... and so forth...

I am in total agreement with the principle - it is totally, totally wrong for BGAFD to "shrug its shoulders" to this. I suppose that it could be argued that the statement along the lines of "we know it's happening... but it's the nature of the business", is effectively condoning the practice...

It isn't something I have given much though to until now - but yes, I think action is called for.... But what action?

I think you will find that the mods/owners are caught in somewhat of a dilemma. Knowledge is one thing, proving it ( at the risk of a lawsuit) is another.
Best to buy from ESTABLISHED sources, then the problem does not arise.

With respect to the mods, I would say that this site is a source of info, NOT an endorsement/No-No of a particular adverrtiser.

Perhaps their hints should be heeded. Caveat Emptor.

I think you've hit the nail on the head Marcus...

BGAFD can take pride - immense pride - in the fact that it is incredibly detailed, a veritable feast of information on the Brit-Porn scene (and further afield)...

The fact that it does contain such a wealth of information and links is part of its attraction and undoubtedly the reason it is THE only really credible source of info on the scene.

There is no credible, reliable, infallible way of policing this issue - I cannot think of one anyway... therefore, the answer is very much "Buyer Beware"...

I suppose a disclaimer is absolutely the ONLY thing BGAFD can do - have it serve as a "buyer beware" warning... I'd even warn AGAINST listing "REPUTABLE" suppliers - for obvious legal reasons.

It is indeed a tough one. Unfortunately it is the repressive legislation in this country that is to blame.

My other 'Why?' is 'Why didn't you e-mail us about this first?'

I've just looked through the list of Video Suppliers Home and I can think of only two which I'm almost certain carry entirely pirated stock. Both those also carry films which are otherwise unobtainable, which is why they are listed, though with the increased availability of 70s/80s American videos on DVD one of them might be removed.

Some *probably* carry all-pirated stuff, but, as Marcus said, we aren't in a position to prove it.

Others, I suspect (perhaps wrongly), carry some items for which they have the rights and others for which they do not - I'm not going to name names on the board.

I'm afraid you'll just have to put up with the complications of the situation.

It is clearly a difficult problem, though I don't think any pirate is going to take you to court. To protect yourselves, you should state that a listing is entirely at your discretion, and people may be added or removed without you having to give reasons.
Might I suggest that the way forward is to allow copyright owners to police the situation. If they believe a supplier is selling pirated copies of their work, let them complain to you. You pass on the complaint to the supplier, and if they can't demonstrate that the product was bought legally, then you delete them. If there is no clear outcome (ie the copyright is disputed) then you can simply wash your hands of the matter.
You might wish to charge for this service.

Goerge,
It DOES happen. The word gets around and certain suupliers/disrtributors get the message.

The best bet is to buy from established retailors, in the same way you would with groceries. -Tesco. Asda. Sainsbury etc. at al. as opposed to:
Pashi Products/Salim-Select/Joe's Joint etc, etc.

Thanks. Some possibly useful suggestions, but they don't cover the problem of suppliers who sell some pirated stuff and some stuff that they have rights to sell. Not to mention the problem of people who sell material long out of print.

I understand that it is a difficult one, there are ways to check who is pirating and whose not but they are tedious and time consuming and anyway there is a disclaimer. That?s not the point; this is forum used by those in the business, interested in the business or just interested in the product of the business. At some stage we have to say lets go to the trouble and not enable these people to publicise their activities at least not in this place.

There are discussion about there being video producer and performer award schemes, a great idea and a boost for the British business and performers and something which we would certainly want to help sponsor, particularly if it was in conjunction with the BGAFD, the only place at this moment where any of us have any say. It only works though if we do the best we can to sort out the industry (yes there are other things to be looked at) and while I see the point of your comment Alec about contacting you first I think it is something to discuss openly, the post was not intended as a criticism, we have in the past contacted you direct about things of interest, more a wish that the situation is sorted. Sometimes things are not always black and white but there are certainly a few things, which are decidedly off colour.