LAPD conducted simultaneous raids yesterday morning on Video Liquidators of Chatsworth and RC Distributors in Van Nuys. According to sources, police acted on a complaint issued from IVI Distributors claiming that they had exclusive rights to Nitro Productions product and that both Video Liquidators and RC Distributors were, allegedly, "bootlegging" copies of Nitro tapes. Video Liquidators and RC Distributors are business associates and both claim to have non-exclusive agreements with Nitro - Video Liquidators to distribute, and RC to duplicate.
A source at Video Liquidators said that a half dozen police arrived on the premises about 9:30am Thursday morning. "A complaint came from IVI claiming that had the exclusive rights to the product," the source said. The trademark infringement unit of the LAPD arrived here, armed with a warrant. They told us to line up. They frisked us, asked for ID and did a search for outstanding warrants," the source says. The police, according to the source, began loading a truck with tapes. "We showed them the contract we had with Peter Davy. They called Davy and confirmed with him that we had rights to distribute his tapes. The police apologized and unloaded the tapes from their truck. They returned the tapes to the shelves and did everything possible to ingratiate themselves. They were very nice and professional and did nothing out of line, although they insisted I keep the bathroom door when I went to take a leak."
According to the Video Liquidators' source, the company is going to proceed with civil lawsuits in the matter.
Mark Kernes of AVN, representing the Free Speech Coalition, was present at RC Distributors when police arrived. According to Kernes, there were three black & white units, five plainclothes officers and one van. A fire rescue unit also arrived, for what reasons, remain unclear. "They [the police] put us in room and gave us a three page list that said Nitro Productions at top. They said look for any tapes on this list. If you see any tapes that don't look right, tell us about it as well." Kernes says that one of the detectives got on the phone with Peter Davy and told him to come down there to settle the matter, that there were problems only Davy could solve. RC Distributors produced letter from Peter Davy giving the company permission to do dupes and comps. Davy was needed to authenticate signatures and did so when he arrived.
Kernes, a Free Speech Coalition board member, said he was asked to go on the raid as an "expert," not as a journalist. "The Free Speech Coalition was contacted by the police who were looking for someone who could tell the difference between a pirated tape and a legally duplicated one. "I'm supposed to be the expert," Kernes said. " The only things we got to see there were tapes on shelves with white paper labels. "We were told by police if there's anything that looks funny to you, tag it with evidence tags and that the police would sort it out later." According to Kernes the police wanted the FSC to supply a truck with a tailgate lift to hold 5,000 tapes and people that could load boxes. This truck was provided," Kernes said.
At some point during the raid, Kernes said police told him to stop what he was doing and to go outside."About 11:30 one of cops said we're not going to be doing anything further. Nothing was loaded on the trucks."
Attorney Jeffrey Douglas explains the origins of the raid: "A client of mine said he was 'extorted' by a purported 'bootlegger,' " Douglas said. Douglas would neither identify the "client" or the alleged "bootlegger."
Douglas: "He bought a line [Nitro] and had all the existing titles," Douglas says he was told. "Someone called him [Douglas' client] and said unless you buy the bootleg copies I have, I'm going to flood the market with mine because I have more of them than you do. On the strength of that I called the LAPD. Unfortunately, the relationship that my client had formed with LAPD before I got involved meant that the matter could not be saved. My client had done everything conceivably wrong with LAPD in advance, and they just couldn't work with him or trust him. In the course of the conversation [with LAPD] I revealed the existence of the Free Speech Coalition and said if you do these cases, we'd be interested in helping.
"About a month ago I received a call from them saying they were going to be doing a bust of very large proportions and they needed our logistical existence. What that turned into was us doing everything but wearing the uniforms. When, on the eve of this, they said they needed us to provide even the boxes and the tape to tape the boxes in, I inquired about LAPD's extensive resources. They said when they do these cases, typically, a company or a trade association does everything for them. They're accustomed to MPAA where, and I'm using these names illustratively, where Fox or somebody comes in and says here's the bootlegger, and they do, in fact provide the staffing, the boxes and the tape. I don't know whether LAPD's been spoiled, or if they haven't developed the resources. We were lead along by LAPD and it's very unfortunate that people who were doing nothing illegal gort invaded and intruded upon. It's most unfortunate.
Peter Davy was contacted for comment at the time of this posting, but had not as yet returned calls.
