Anti-piracy official urges Japanese firms to lobby Beijing

Asian Economic News, July 18, 2005

TOKYO, July 12 Kyodo

A senior anti-piracy official from Hong Kong on Tuesday urged Japanese content holders including filmmakers, publishers, music labels and game producers to lobby the Chinese government to stop illegal copying because pirated item manufacturers are often protected through cozy ties with local governments.

''Piracy in China is so rampant and there is local protection. To attack the local protection, it is a long battle,'' said Sam Ho, director of operations in Greater China at the Motion Picture Association International. The MPA represents seven major Hollywood studios and has about 70 anti-piracy offices in the world.

Speaking at a Tokyo anti-piracy seminar attended by Japanese content holders, Ho said it is vital for intellectual property rights holders to make written requests or reports on illegal copying incidents they have witnessed to such Chinese central government bodies as the State Council and Ministry of Culture.

''I suggest you write to the State Council...because the Chinese administration can say that 'I don't know. You didn't tell me,''' Ho said. He is the general manager of the MPA's local program, Hong Kong Film & Video Security Ltd., whose operation area expanded in 2004 to include mainland China.

''If you do not protect your rights, you have no rights. The pirates will steal your rights,'' Ho said.

Ho, who has had a 27-year career at the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police, said he has worked with enforcement authorities in four major Chinese cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou -- and held seminars to train local law enforcement officials.

Earlier this year, Hong Kong Film & Video Security carried out large-scale raids on manufacturing centers of pirated items, shops and online traders with Hong Kong Customs authorities and the Shenzhen General Culture Administrative Enforcement Taskforce, as well as the Municipal & District Culture Taskforce in Guangzhou.

As a result, the number of shops in Hong Kong exclusively selling pirated items has decreased from about 80 in January to about 30 in June. While many shops were closed following the arrest of those engaged in illegal copying, no new shops were opened under the influence of a crime syndicate, Ho said.

Among the seized DVD and video compact disc items were such Japanese animation titles as ''Gundam,'' ''Inu Yasha'' and ''Steam Boy,'' he said.

As for trading of pirated items through Internet auctions, Ho said criminal prosecution is possible in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but only administrative punishments can be imposed on traders in mainland China due to lack of proper legislation in the country.

According to data compiled by the Cultural Affairs Agency in Japan, 84 percent of Japanese content products in China were pirated in 2003, causing an estimated 550 billion yen in damage.

In 2002, the combined damage from the piracy of Japanese products in Hong Kong and Taiwan was an estimated 80.9 billion yen, according to questionnaires completed by consumers of those items.