Piracy must have crowd-pulling marketing power if one goes by Sony Pictures' latest release of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which looks like a burned bootleg DVD-R copy with the movie's title scrawled across it with a marker.

Purchasers raised eyebrows and some even inquired about its origin. This was the authentic DVD, though, direct from Sony Pictures. The studio designed the DVD and its packaging to reflect the theme of the movie and its popular hacker protagonist, Lisbeth Salander.

Comments abound on specialist fora. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is not the first title to get the 'piracy' treatment. Sasha Baron Cohen's Borat DVD used the same trick. On the music side, heavy metal band System of a Down did it a few years ago with Steal This Album! and Smashing Pumpkins released their Judas 0 CD looking like a pirate version as well.

"In some [US] states if a CD or DVD is visible through the window, and the disc looks to be a copy of a copyright protected disc then it gives the police permission to search your car because a crime has apparently happened," noted a forum contributor. "So, do not leave this visible on your car's seat."

It is not certain real pirates' burned counterfeits would feature a Parental Advisory notice or a R-certificate! "Good, now everyone can copy it and it won't be noticed. Thank you Sony!' ironised another one.

Story filed 23.03.12