Page "Grey market" Paragraph 9

The development of DVD region codes, and equivalent regional-lockout techniques in other media, are examples of technological features designed to limit the flow of goods between national markets, effectively fighting the grey market that would otherwise develop.

This enables movie studios and other content creators to charge more for the same product in one market than in another or alternatively withhold the product from some markets for a particular time.

Consumer advocacy groups argue that this discrimination against consumers — the charging of higher prices on the same object simply because of where they happen to live — is unjust and anti-competitive.

Since it requires governments to legislate to prevent their citizens from purchasing goods at cheaper prices from other markets, and since this is clearly not in their citizens ' interests, many governments in democratic countries have chosen not to protect anti-competitive technologies such as DVD region-coding.