i bought 1000 region free dvds from Malaysia . i track on the parcel and it had been inbound into customs for a month . i really dont know what to do here . will they fined or jail me . someone said i will get a letter from custom . will they ask me to cooperate with them to investigate the seller ? i get them from an auction site.

-- jonny fernado (musicamusement@hotmail.com), July 22, 2002

Answers

You might want to talk to an attorney. Let this be a lesson to everyone in the forum - if you live in the USA, I would personally suggest you not ever buy more than a handful of VCDs or DVDs from Southeast Asia, regardless of the legality of such discs. I have read of customs seizures of legal VCDs that were bought in large quantities. You should be aware that US customs operates on a "guilty until proven innocent" basis in reality, making it VERY difficult to get your stuff back, even if it's legal. If you buy more than a handful of VCDs or DVDs, you will attract attention from US customs EVERY TIME. While in theory you are legally allowed to buy one copy of an imported VCD or DVD for personal use, large numbers of discs are generally considered by customs to NOT be for personal use but for resale. If you are lucky, customs will keep your discs and you'll never hear back from them. If you are unlucky, the MPAA will decide to make an example of you. Good luck and hire the best attorney you can if necessary.

-- Root (root@yahoo.com), July 22, 2002.

Thanks for the respond . I bought 100 , not 1000 , mistyped. This should be a lesson to me . If they take action , who will be fined or jailed? The buyer or the seller ? How come they are still many existing online purchase illegal Vcd and Dvd on the web , arent they illegal or legal to do this /

-- jonny fernado (musicamusement@hotmail.com), July 22, 2002.

I doubt you will be jailed. Personally, I would just forget about it and hope you never hear from US Customs. Here's the deal - there was a landmark court case in the 1980's that involved imported vinyl records where the Sam Goody chain imported records from Canada at cheaper prices than buying them from US distibutors, and resold them in US stores. There was a court ruling that US consumers had the right to purchase one copy of an imported music selection (the media type - vinyl, CD, tape - doesn't matter) for personal use, but anything more than one copy per selection was considered "dealing" and violates some law. The usual punishment is a fine. For example, you could buy 3 different CDs from say, Spain, and be OK, but if you buy 3 copies of the same recording, you have to pay US royalties on it. It's all about money.

This case applies to VCD/DVD. Basically, it's legal for you to buy one copy of a legitimate VCD or DVD, but when you buy in massive amounts (in my opinion, anything over 5 discs is begging customs to look at it) like you did, Customs gets nosy. Yes, 100 VCDs or DVDs is big enough to get Customs interested and they probably seized your discs, assuming you are not paying royalties on them and intend to resell them. They may even think some are bootlegs, which could get you in some hot water. However, I suspect if they wanted to jail you, you would have heard from them by now.

Your choices are limited. If you want to fight the seizure, you will have to hire an attorney who will argue that you have a legal right to import those titles. If any of them are bootlegs or you have multiple copies of any single title, by default you are a dealer and you will lose your case. You will be considered to be avoiding paying royalties in America on the items. I can't say what the result would be, most likely a fine. You should be aware that if you choose to fight it, you will be arguing your case against people who have absolutely no way to verify that you are buying legitimate merchandise and Customs will probably say out of ignorance or outright deception that you are dealing in bootleg merchandise. The odds are stacked against you my friend. It's like getting a traffic ticket from a corrupt cop. You can go to court and fight it, but if the cop lies about what you did, you're going to lose anyway. Since you bought them from an auction site, you're probably just out the money you spent. I'm sorry, but let this be a lesson to you. When importing music or video, buy in small quantities or you run the risk of seizure. I'm not saying it's right or fair, I'm just telling you the reality of the situation. If any of you ever order more than 5 copies of anything in a single shipment, you are taking chances with Customs. I have bought VCDs, DVDs and audio CDs for years from overseas and I never buy more than 3 in any single shipment and I have never had any problems with Customs. Keep in mind too that you are limited to $400 US per year in imported merchandise and 100 VCDs or DVDs clearly is in excess of what you are allowed to bring in duty free. You might attempt to pay duties on the discs and see if they will let you keep them, but it might be best to just forget about it.

Sorry for the fake email address, but I really don't want to be deluged with emails about this subject. I do know something about it and I want to be helpful, but you need to talk to an attorney if you want to fight this and I will warn you again that you will likely lose.

-- Root (root@yahoo.com), July 24, 2002.

what if you declare your items for personal and private use?

-- Gilbert Syta (anime69gts@yahoo.com), January 07, 2004.