The Motion Picture Association announced the conclusion of Operation Takedown Monday, which it says resulted in the arrest of 461 suspected pirates in the countries of China, Malaysia, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan.

Additionally, the group says it was able to seize more than 7.5 million pirated CDs and DVDs, as well as 1,000 CD/DVD burners and caught more than 56 cammers in the act of surreptitiously recording a feature film in theaters.

Operation Takedown ran from May to July 2008.

The press release, posted to the MPAA’s website on behalf of the MPA (PDF), notes that “governments across the [Asia-Pacific] region began to tighten their laws on camcording,” including reward and public outreach programs in Thailand, and plainclothes police officers that patrol cinemas in Hong Kong. Critics say that these government initiatives are a direct result of Hollywood lobbying efforts.

Both the MPAA press release and independent reports confirm an upsurge in legislation against piracy amongst Asian nation, particularly against the practice of recording movies while they are playing in movies – a process called camcording. Throughout the world, movie theater employees are being trained – often by MPAA representatives -- in the use of night vision goggles to monitor a movie crowd, in order to spot patrons attempting to record a film. Such initiatives appear to be working, with arrest announcements popping up in the news on a regular basis.

Indeed, the MPAA recently began to take a novel approach to its anti-piracy efforts, particularly in the case of DVD-sniffing dogs Lucky and Flo. The dogs are so effective, in fact, that at least one piracy syndicate offered a bounty in return for their “elimination”. On a more controversial note, the organization also cultivates an educational program aimed at elementary and middle schools, where students fill complete workbooks filled with anti-piracy materials and prompts.

The MPAA claims that it has lost more than $6 billion USD to piracy in 2005, and says its 2007 efforts resulted in more than 36,200 legal cases and 13,000 police raids, with a grand total of more than 31 million pirates CDs and DVDs seized.