New York Following a six month operation, code-named Copy Cat, US authorities believe that they may have broken the largest videotape piracy ring in the US after the arrest of 35 people in New York and three people in California this week.

The company, which was already offering The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Cable Guy, The Phantom, Twister, Eddie, The Rock, Mission: Impossible and The Nutty Professor on video before their US theatrical or video release, is said to have offered franchises to people wanting to enter the counterfeit video business and set up distribution operations. They were outdoing McDonald's as a franchise operation, Manhattan District attorney, Robert Morgenthau, said on announcing the arrests Monday.

According to MPAA estimates, the pirates sold more than 100,000 video units a week in the US and grossed over US$2 million each month. The economic impact on the industry in revenue and lost ticket sales was estimated to be worth more than US$87 million annually.

The six principal defendants, all come from Brooklyn, New York. Charges will include conspiracy, manufacturing and selling of unauthorised recordings, racketeering and criminal possession of a forged instrument. Christopher Pickard

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