16 Copyright Piracy Suspects Identified During Operation Torpedo in Hong Kong

According to a press release by Karri Ho from the International Federation Against Copyright Theft – Greater China (IFACT-GC), from September 29 to October 1, IFACT-GC representing the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the CJ Mark Committee (CJ Mark) in Hong Kong, which represents Japanese rights owners, joined forces with over 120 officers from the Hong Kong Customs Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau (IPIB) and the Special Task Force (STF) in a territory-wide anti-piracy operation against a series of distribution and retail outlets selling pirated optical discs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

19 retail shops and a warehouse were raided. Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department estimates that the seizures of the DVDs created a revenue loss of HK$ 1,147,963 (US$ 147,175).

15 or 16 suspects (in the same press release these two numbers are used) of copyright infringement of Hollywood, Hong Kong and Japanese movies were arrested.

Read the IFACT-GC press release by Karri Ho here (pdf).

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MPAA Victorious Against Shanghai Leying; So Far Damages Have Been Peanuts

So far three out of the seven American film production companies won in piracy cases in Shanghai, March 7, 2007. The Chinese Law Digest found this story in the Shanghai Youth Daily (Chinese):

"Initiated by the Motion Picture Association of America, seven American film production companies, including Warner Bros. sued Shanghai Leying Audio and Video Production Company for pirating movies, such as “Lord of the Rings I,” and claimed more than 3,430,000 RM in compensation."

'On March 6, the Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People’s Court issued a judgment on three cases, requiring that Leying stop selling pirated DVDs and compensate New Line Cinema in the amount of 7,000 RMB, Disney in the amount of 12,000 RMB, and Warner Bros. in the amount of 6,000 RMB. Another court session will hear the four other cases.'

The China Law Digest is a bilingual, monthly web digest detailing the latest news and developments on contemporary Chinese law and legal scholarship (including sometimes intellectual property law). You can get a free subscription here.

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HK IP Head: Naughty Public Should Get Benefits

Heda Bayron of Voice of America comes up with a nice Asia Piracy Report, in written form and in streaming video.

In the video you see Stephen Selby, the head of Hong Kong's intellectual property department saying:

"The public gets tired of being told not to be naughty. There has got to be something in it for them. Usually we do things more willingly if we think we benefit in the end rather than just being told, ‘Uh-uh, naughty, ya-yay, you must not do that.’ "

Right, so what is he proposing to give in return? The report did not caught his answer.

But the article continues about safety risks and the true cost of copyright piracy and depriving producers of their profit, which leaves them without any incentives to innovate, which hurts economic development, and in the end the consumer's wallet.

Was this Selby's reasoning or was he referring to benefits in a more literal way, such as reward schemes for informants giving specific information leading to a seizure or conviction in piracy activities? Remember HK's efforts to turn youth into snitches, here. These reward schemes exist already at least since 2004, see here.

In the video you can see Mike Ellis of MPA, representing movie companies (again in a winning mood after the victory against Sohu.com), making a cameo about the risks of movie making and market access restrictions that stimulate copyright piracy.

Read and watch Bayron's report here.

Update: Counterfeit.com reports that in January Hong Kong Customs and Excise have arrested 130 people.

"Officers raided 806 pirated optical disc retail outlets, 80 counterfeit goods stalls and 17 showroom-and-storage facilities across Hong Kong."

Read here.

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