The BBFC is accepting submissions on DVD as from January 1st
2006. As a result of this there is no need to submit works on DVD
with a burnt in time code, the DVD counter time providing the same
information.
Removing the burnt in time code on a digital version could be seen as
potentially increasing the opportunity for untraceable piracy of the
material to occur. The presence of a time code instantly
demonstrates that this is not a released version of the product.
The BBFC is confident that its security measures are sufficient.
The BBFCs procedures have been accredited by the Federation
Against Copyright Theft to that effect. The BBFC cannot, of
course, guarantee the security of material before it reaches our
premises and fully appreciates the video industry's concern that
untraceable piracy could occur.
There has been a long standing objection to the use of DOGs as these
are often deliberately designed to be large and intrusive. This
is understandable as an anti-piracy measure but renders the work
unusable for classification purposes.
In the light of our shared concerns the BBFC is now prepared to accepts
DOGs on submissions, subject to the adherence to the standards laid out
below.
The overriding principle is that no DOG should obstruct the visibility
of any significant material. Regardless of other points if a DOG
does obstruct significant material then the work will require
resubmission with the DOG adjusted or removed as necessary.
The DOG should be in the top right hand corner of the picture or, if there is a time code in this corner, the top left corner.
The DOG should not extend over more than the top 10% of the image, or
over more than 25% of the width of the image from the nearest edge.
The DOG must be static, not scrolling, flashing or otherwise dynamic.
The DOG must be white and have a transparency of 50%.
Text in the DOG is to be limited to 10 characters. A code of
"copy 2263", a company name or abbreviation is acceptable as is a
unique code generated for the copy or any other text, though limited to
ten characters. This limit helps to ensure that the DOG is
comparable with a time code in screen space used. The DOG
must not contain an explicit reference to the BBFC (e.g. 'BBFC COPY' or
'CENSORCOPY').
The examples attached illustrate how the time code and DOGs might be presented in an acceptable way.
