It had previously been on the Watch List in 1991-1992. The latter set of issues was resolved by the enactment of copyright law amendments in 1995. This traffic in devices to circumvent technological protections is inflicting serious damage on the development of the pay-TV market throughout Europe, where signal theft is on the rise. German authorities have provided virtually no support for industry efforts to tackle this burgeoning problem, because signal theft is not a major problem within Germany itself, and because the legal status of these activities under German law is unclear. Apart from smart card and decoder piracy, sale and rental of pirated and counterfeit videocassettes is the major piracy problem facing the U.S. motion picture industry in Germany.
Video pirates employ a number of production and distribution strategies in Germany.
Pirate masters are copied from cinema screens, or from advance video screener copies supplied to the press and to video distributors. These masters are often carried across the border to Poland or the Czech Republic to be duplicated. German enforcement measures against video piracy are generally strong, effective, and well coordinated with industry efforts. Police and customs officials are well trained, and the latter have become increasingly vigilant toward pirate traffic across the border with Poland. Five suspected ringleaders were arrested.