bootlegging

Illegal manufacture, distribution, or sale of a product. The term originated in the USA, when the sale of alcohol to American Indians was illegal and bottles were hidden for sale in the legs of the jackboots of unscrupulous traders. The term was later used for all illegal liquor sales during the period of Prohibition in the USA 1919–33. More recently it has been applied to unauthorized commercial tape recordings and the copying of computer software.

With audio and video recordings, a distinction is often made between counterfeits (see counterfeiting); pirate releases, which contain previously released material without authorization, but do not duplicate the packaging of the official release; and bootlegs proper, which contain otherwise unreleased material, either live or studio, without authorization.