Bootlegging
Bootlegging is a term to describe
smuggling. While originally the term described illegal transport and sale of alcoholic
beverages on which
excise taxes had not been paid, it now refers more broadly to the sale or transport of many types of goods either illegal or
grey market.
It is said that the term originates from the method of hiding alcohol in flasks on the legs of sellers, above or under the boot. The term is sometimes used to refer exclusively to the production of untaxed
alcoholic products; however, that is more accurately called "
moonshining." Most bootleg liquor is not "home-made" by a moonshiner but, instead, bottled by professional
distillers.
The illegal sale of many consumer products other than alcohol is often termed
Bootlegging as well. Goods such as
compact discs,
DVDs and other
Intellectual Property are considered to be "bootleg" if they are
replicated without permission of the
copyright holder.
During
Prohibition of the
1920s in the
United States, much of the bootleg
whiskey was brought in from
Canada (See
American Whiskey Trail) and much of the bootleg rum was imported from
Mexico or
Cuba via "rum roads" or "rum routes." . Today most bootleg alcohol in the United States was made domestically but sold "under the table" or "off the back of a truck" without the necessary permits and taxes.
Bootlegging is used to describe many similar phenomena relating to illegal activity.
In Business
In economics and business administration literature bootlegging is defined as research in which motivated individuals secretly organise the innovation process. It usually is a bottom-up, non-programmed activity, without the official authorisation of the responsible management, but for the benefit of the company. It is not in the department's action plan nor are there any formal resources allocated towards it.
Music
The term is also applied to musicians who create
bastard pop songs ("bootlegs" or "mash-ups") by combining tracks (which are often illegally sampled) from different artists to create a new piece of music.
Unofficial audio recordings of live performances in particular are often called bootlegs.
