How can I tell if these are Bootleg?

[bakura_fan]

I want to buy deathnote off of Ebay...or find it somewhere in a box set for a good price...but i don't want to get a bootleg (like with Fruits Basket ;-; ). Can anyone tell me if these are bootlegs ( i pray I'm using the right word)?
http://cgi.ebay.com/DEATH-NOTE-Anime-DVD-1-37end-Free-OST-CD-ENG-SUB_W0QQitemZ200149706757QQihZ010QQcategoryZ617QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Can't be too sure. A lot of people tend to dismiss stuff as bootleg simply because it's from Hong Kong. Actually, most DVDs from Hong Kong are legitimate. (The same doesn't apply to China, I think) Legitimate Hong Kong DVDs also tend to be Region-0, which is what these DVD's are. I'm actually leaning towards the side that they're legitimate.

Although that's the case, you can't necessarily trust the subtitles to be accurate. If I were you, I'd just wait for the American DVDs.

[bakura_fan]

how long will that be do you think?

[TriezGamer]

Can't be too sure. A lot of people tend to dismiss stuff as bootleg simply because it's from Hong Kong. Actually, most DVDs from Hong Kong are legitimate. (The same doesn't apply to China, I think) Legitimate Hong Kong DVDs also tend to be Region-0, which is what these DVD's are. I'm actually leaning towards the side that they're legitimate.

Although that's the case, you can't necessarily trust the subtitles to be accurate. If I were you, I'd just wait for the American DVDs.

No, MSP, Hong Kong legitimate DVDs are Region 3. These are extremely likely to be bootleg.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

No, MSP, Hong Kong legitimate DVDs are Region 3. These are extremely likely to be bootleg.

Not necessarily. Yes Hong Kong is generally labeled as "Region 3", but I have a good number of legitimate DVDs that are Hong Kong imports. Good translation and good quality picture.

[Cognitive Gear]

Any chance we can get a bootleg sticky? These seem to pop up quite often.

[Tenshi no Ai]

They look nice, but I have a feeling they're fakes. Interesting how they have to come with a certificate of authenticity too.

I just know that I don't see too often at all collector sets like that in many other places, something has never felt right about about places like China containing english subtitles, and the starting price seems too low. Now, I know concerning prices many people start off at say .99 to get the bidding up, but sometimes like in that case, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is :/ I bought some games for a lower price than normal and they were fakes :/

[bakura_fan]

well I guess I'll just wait. ^^, thanks guys. I was trying to find something for my upcomming trip to Las vegas *like plane ride and what not* So, I found that Discount anime...or something like that was having a sale on their Death Note Manga...bought them instead. ^_^

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I just know that I don't see too often at all collector sets like that in many other places, something has never felt right about about places like China containing english subtitles

I think they do it on purpose to target the importers market (which is rather small, I guess) hence why it's also region 0.

But it could also easily be a bootleg, but the pictures look too legit for me, to be honest.

[Tenshi no Ai]

I would LOVE to have my set of Death Note DVDs look like that though^^ Very nicely set up and saves room^^

About Chinese subtitles though, even if they aren't bootlegged ummm they don't always translate well at ALL. Star Wars ep 3 had some of the worse english subs I've ever encountered, via off a site with screenshots (and man oh man was there ever an overdose of unnecessary bad language when lost in translation^^)

[TriezGamer]

You simply cannot say legit or bootleg based on appearances. A friend of mine bought a bootlegged set of Steel Angel Kurumi, and quite frankly, it was more impressive than the real boxset. But it was still a bootleg.

Don't be fooled by professional design -- bootleggers are in it for the money, and they aim to create the biggest appeal possible. This isn't a game to them.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

You simply cannot say legit or bootleg based on appearances. A friend of mine bought a bootlegged set of Steel Angel Kurumi, and quite frankly, it was more impressive than the real boxset. But it was still a bootleg.

Don't be fooled by professional design -- bootleggers are in it for the money, and they aim to create the biggest appeal possible. This isn't a game to them.

So does that make every single Imported DVD a bootleg if it's Region Free?

[Roy Mustang]

So does that make every single Imported DVD a bootleg if it's Region Free?

Well, quoted from the Anime Digital- The pirate anime faq, A Guide To Unlicensed Anime and Manga Related Goods web site.

http://www.digital.anime.org.uk/piratefaq.html

http://www.digital.anime.org.uk/piratefaq.html#dvd

Many pirate anime DVDs have certain factors in common, they are almost always set to All Regions or Region 0 which is also known as "Region Free". They have Chinese subtitles as well as the Japanese audio track, and many often have an English subtitle track which will vary in quality and accuracy of translation.

Also look at the price, you would not be able to buy a DVD boxset for $40 with all 26 episodes of a series on! If the price is too good to be true, then it is not the real thing.

A title that proves popular bootleg title is the "Archives of Studio Ghibli" DVD set (which is not to be confused with the official Archives of Studio Ghibli Artbooks). No legally licensed equivalent of this currently exists.

Very few officially licensed DVDs sold in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other Region 3 countries have English and Cantonese/Chinese subtitles, this includes "Spirited Away", "My Neighbour Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service", which do have official releases (with English subtitles) but are still being pirated. More details about these titles can be found at Nausicaa.net.

So remember, if it is set to Region 0 or All Regions and has Chinese as well as English subtitles there is a very strong chance that the title is a bootleg.

If you own a DVD and are uncertain if it is authentic after reading all this, have a look at the inner ring of the DVD near the hole in the middle. Normally there is a serial number in this area, just like a CD. If it has been scratched off, melted away or otherwise tampered with then that is another sure sign of a pirate/bootleg DVD. This number is used to identify the DVD pressing plant and has been removed so it cannot be traced.

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

[TriezGamer]

So does that make every single Imported DVD a bootleg if it's Region Free?

No, but the reality is that the majority of them are. Put in another light: Unless you genuinely don't care about buying bootlegs (and that's your decision to make, I don't care what you choose and it's not really my business), buying DVDs from Hong Kong is going to rapidly end you with a large collection of bootlegs.

And I can guarantee you, if they were legitimate, they'd cost nearly as much, and most likely more than the average Region 1 DVD. Hong Kong bootlegs are cheap because they're practically manufactured at no cost. They don't pay for a license. They don't really do much of anything beyond designing pretty cases (very pretty cases in some instances), and press the discs. Often times even the English subs on bootlegs are just copied from a fansubbing group.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

If you own a DVD and are uncertain if it is authentic after reading all this, have a look at the inner ring of the DVD near the hole in the middle. Normally there is a serial number in this area, just like a CD. If it has been scratched off, melted away or otherwise tampered with then that is another sure sign of a pirate/bootleg DVD. This number is used to identify the DVD pressing plant and has been removed so it cannot be traced.

So I used this method on my Imported Region 0 DVDS (Korean movies, not anime) and they all have some sort of serial number on them. Does this mean they're legitimate?

And I can guarantee you, if they were legitimate, they'd cost nearly as much, and most likely more than the average Region 1 DVD. Hong Kong bootlegs are cheap because they're practically manufactured at no cost. They don't pay for a license. They don't really do much of anything beyond designing pretty cases (very pretty cases in some instances), and press the discs. Often times even the English subs on bootlegs are just copied from a fansubbing group.

If I recall, most of them were around the 20-dollar area. I didn't buy them online, rather I bought them at AX as well as Otakon.

[Roy Mustang]

So I used this method on my Imported Region 0 DVDS (Korean movies, not anime) and they all have some sort of serial number on them. Does this mean they're legitimate?

Since the last update on the web site was in 2004, I would say yes. Bootlegers are not idiots. Most of them know what they are doing and will try to make what they are dealing in, look very real.

If I recall, most of them were around the 20-dollar area. I didn't buy them online, rather I bought them at AX as well as Otakon.

Well, there are still some bootlegs being sold at anime cons. Most cons have ordered dealers to stop selling bootlegs. But there are still some that do this, it doesn't matter if you bought it at a con or online. If people think they can get away with it, they will.

[color="Red"][font="Book Antiqua"]
Col. Roy Mustang[/font][/color]

[Nate]

Well, there are still some bootlegs being sold at anime cons. Most cons have order dealers to stop selling bootlegs. But there are still some that do this, it doesn't matter if you bought it at a con or online. If people think they can get away with it, they will.

Well, I think he mentioned the price (20 dollar range) because of the statement that if they were legit they'd cost about the same as a normal DVD (which is, in most cases, around 20 dollars). However, Ryan also fails to take into account the exorbitant prices many con dealers charge...for example, an item I saw on an official website for models cost 130 dollars...at Otakon I saw the exact same item for 200. So there you go.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Well, I think he mentioned the price (20 dollar range) because of the statement that if they were legit they'd cost about the same as a normal DVD (which is, in most cases, around 20 dollars). However, Ryan also fails to take into account the exorbitant prices many con dealers charge...for example, an item I saw on an official website for models cost 130 dollars...at Otakon I saw the exact same item for 200. So there you go.

I didn't really fail to take that into account. XD It's very possible that they charged more than they got the DVDs for. Although I do believe I got my dvds from a reputable company (Cine-East), I try to get stuff from them during conventions. Only reason why I mentioned the price was because Triez questioned the prices.

But yeah, cons always up the prices of stuff. I saw a Paranoia Agent Box set for 80 dollars O.o I got it for 50 at Suncoast.

Although one of my DVDs has subtitles that are out of sync with the spoken dialect. I'm still hesitant to dismiss it as a bootleg (Though it's highly possible) because my Hot Fuzz DVD (From Best Buy) suffers from the same problem.

[Nikolai Melodie]

Generally when sets look like that they are bootleg, but I got a set straight from the distributor at a convention once that looked like that [Ahh...freebies...] Although, it wasn't actually free. >_> A friend and I chipped in for the paticular set, and it was around 120ish or something. I don't even remember the series, this was over five years ago. [LOL. FIRST CON, JUST FYI]

[termyt]

"Reputable company" is the best key there. I would also suggest the market for Korean movie bootlegs is somewhat less than the market for anime so anime bootlegs would be much more prevalent.

Buying from a dealer at a con does not protect you from bootlegs. Most Con staffs that I know of will not allow bootlegs, but most are not about to go through hundreds if not thousands of DVD’s to check for them, either. DVD’s are probably better off than CD’s – I don’t remember seeing a DVD Anime bootleg at a con in the last 5 years or so. CD’s, on the other hand, in my experiences at cons are 90-95% bootlegs.

Paying a reasonable price does not protect you either. Once word got around that cheap=bootleg, many bootleggers simply raised their prices. More profit for them and not as easy to tell the difference.

The best rule of thumb is not to buy DVD’s unless you can hold them in your hand first so you can personally verify the packaging. Bootlegs will have poorer production and printing quality and will likely be missing the copyright information altogether.

I can guarantee the DVD’s in your listing are not the North American release – I think that much is obvious. While it is not illegal to buy properly licensed DVD’s from other regions, you are asking for trouble when buying from Hong Kong. The English subtitles are usually very poor as well.

Everything, and I mean everything, from Taiwan is a bootleg. No international company manufactures any CD’s, DVD’s, games, or books in Taiwan for sale elsewhere. Taiwan does not recognize International Copyright Laws, so it is legal, in Taiwan, to take anyone’s intellectual property, produce your own copies, and sell them without ever paying royalties to the rights holder. It is illegal to sell Taiwanese bootlegs in any country that has signed the international copyright law treaty. The USA, Canada, and Japan as well as, I believe, all members of the European Union are signatories of that treaty.

[mitsuki lover]

Technically I believe it's an Accord and not a Treaty.The difference being that an Accord is less formal than a Treaty.

[termyt]

It's actually a number of treaties covering intellectual property rights, patents, performances, recordings, etc, etc. DVD’s in particular, I think, would fall under the WIPO Performances and Phongrams Treaty of 1996, but intellectual property is covered by several treaties and conventions, so they could be covered by several.