Anti-Piracy in Asia Pacific
SIGNAL THEFT
in this section:
The illegal use of MPA member company product on cable TV systems is another serious problem in the region. Pirates have made businesses out of supplying consumers with illegally received pay channels. This includes receiving signal feed from other cable operators and illegally transmitting it to additional households. Technical safeguards and a vigilant program aimed at prosecuting signal pirates exist and are enhanced regularly. The MPA is increasing the use of civil actions, and continuing its support of criminal prosecutions, to attack these illegal operations.
ORGANIZED CRIME
There is abundant evidence that intellectual property theft has become a preferred fundraising activity for organizations that also number among their pastimes drug trafficking, prostitution and people trafficking. In many Asian territories, including Japan, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Korea and the Philippines, copyright theft is included under organized crime or money laundering statutes. For good reason. The piracy business returns stellar profits. Markups on pirated goods average over 1150%, far exceeding differential profits on those from the illegal drug trade. Organized criminal gangs owe and feel no allegiances to governments and nation, nor do they distinguish between local and foreign businesses. The nature and extent of organized crime, and particularly international organized crime, requires an unprecedented response from nation states and the international community. It requires an aggressive allocation of resources in the areas of enforcement, legislative and judicial reform, and education, an allocation of resources that is commensurate with the billions of dollars that are being stolen by these organized criminal networks from the world's creative industries and businesses.
UNAUTHORIZED PUBLIC PERFORMANCES
'Unauthorized public performance' is another form of piracy wherein film product is exhibited without the permission of the copyright owner. This could include public performances during which an admission fee is charged by an institution or commercial establishment that shows movies to its members or customers without the permission of the copyright owner. It could also include the ‘streaming’ of video via the Internet.
IDENTIFYING ILLEGAL PRODUCT
The presence of any or a series of indicators can help point to pirated product, including the absence of special markings on the packaging, unofficial labeling, tape or disc length that does not correspond to the film’s running time. In most countries in the Asia-Pacific region, there is no attempt made to hide the fact that the product is pirated. Pirate product is sold in cheap packaging, the title has yet to be released in video or optical disc format and the price is ridiculously low. No legitimate film producer can stay in business by selling a major title for fifty U.S. cents.
INTERNET
Online motion picture piracy is the unauthorized use of copyrighted motion pictures on the Internet. It is typically illegal to sell, trade, lease, distribute, upload for transmission, transmit or publicly perform motion pictures without the consent of the motion pictures’ copyright owner.
Online piracy is, unfortunately, a growing trend. The MPA Internet Anti-Piracy program investigates all forms of online piracy including: Peer-to-Peer, Downloadable Media, Hard Good Piracy, Streaming Media and illegal Circumvention Devices. The MPA is working with the on-line community to develop safeguards against the unauthorized use and distribution of film industry product on the Internet.