The MPA directs its Asia-Pacific anti-piracy activities from a regional office in Singapore. Worldwide headquarters are in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, California. Additionally, more than a dozen anti-piracy offices represent the MPA around the region.
Illegal motion picture and television piracy is a thriving international enterprise. The Motion Picture Association (MPA) estimates that its member companies lose approximately US$1.2 billion each year in potential revenue in the Asia-Pacific region alone, and US$6.1 billion globally. In many countries, MPA member company losses are far outstripped by production, theatrical exhibition, home video distribution losses to local industry, as well as losses to governments in uncollected tax revenues. Consumer spending losses on filmed entertainment worldwide are estimated at US$18.2 billion.
In 2007, the MPA’s operations in the Asia-Pacific region investigated more than 36,200 cases of piracy and assisted law enforcement officials in conducting nearly 13,000 raids. These activities resulted in the seizure of more than 31 million illegal optical discs, 40 factory optical disc production lines and 6,400 optical disc burners, as well as the initiation of more than 10,000 legal actions.
The MPA represents the interests of six international producers and distributors of theatrical films, home video products, and television programming: Buena Vista International, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Releasing International, Twentieth Century Fox International Corporation, Universal International Films, and Warner Bros Pictures International, a division of Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.
The MPA, on behalf of its member companies, directs a comprehensive worldwide anti-piracy program. Begun in the U.S. in 1975, the program has several objectives: to strengthen industry security measures, to strengthen existing copyright protection through legislative activity, to assist local governments in the investigation and prosecution of piracy cases, and to provide technical support in the criminal and civil litigation generated by such investigations.
On a worldwide basis, entire markets have been transformed from almost universal piracy to legitimate businesses for both American film suppliers as well as other foreign and local filmmakers. MPA ‘source investigations’, coupled with security measures, have helped identify and expose international piracy networks that reap enormous profits from stealing the intellectual property of American filmmakers. These profits come at the expense of U.S. studios as well as undermining film producers, distributors, exhibitors and retailers of all nations.
By and large, the countries in the Asia-Pacific region have strong anti-piracy legislation. In addition to criminal remedies, copyright owners may also file civil lawsuits against infringers. Worldwide, more than 64 nations have ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, which sets international copyright standards in the Internet era.
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The MPA and its affiliated organizations work to strengthen the copyright laws, when necessary, and suggest appropriate penalties as part of copyright reform. In some parts of the world where copyright laws are weak or non-existent, successful charges have been brought against pirates under other statutes, such as stolen goods, trademark violations, smuggling, and failure to pay customs duties. Although the laws are generally good, there is a lack of deterrent sentencing in almost all countries in the region. The MPA is working with the governments of these countries to increase the penalties for copyright violations.
In Asia-Pacific, P2P piracy is a significant concern in countries with high broadband penetration rates such as South Korea and Japan, and is a threat in all countries with growing broadband user bases. In 2005, a Hong Kong court jailed a man for three months for illegally distributing MPA member company films via the Internet in the world’s first criminal case against a user of BitTorrent technology. Since then there have been numerous criminal convictions for P2P piracy around the region, including South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
Over 90% of pirated movies of new release titles originate from unauthorized copies made from cinemas. Once an unauthorized camcorded copy is made, illegal movies often appear online within hours or days of a movie premiere. Pirates sell these "master recordings" to illicit "source labs" where they are illegally duplicated, packaged and prepared for sale on the black market. Consequently, the film appears in street markets around the world just days after the theatrical release.
With day and date releases of major studio titles becoming more prevalent, and worldwide premieres in Asia-Pacific becoming more common place, the number of successful unauthorized recordings in the region has risen exponentially. In 2007, there were 33 from this region. This is a 65% increase as compared to 2006 when there were 20.
According to forensic analysis, in 2006, Asia-Pacific accounted for 4% of the total worldwide camcord problem. This share increased to 5.9% in 2007.
The MPA is working with exhibitors around the region to put in place best practice enforcement procedures and with governments where possible to introduce anti-camcording legislation.
In addressing piracy, tackling the problem at its source has proven a highly effective strategy, and the MPA has had success in a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region with programs aimed at rewarding citizens for information leading to the seizure of optical disc production facilities and equipment. These reward schemes are aimed at identifying pirate manufacturing facilities, and have led to significant seizures of optical disc replication equipment.
As enforcement and prosecution continue to lag behind that devoted to other serious crimes – maintaining the perception that the risks and rewards of copyright piracy heavily favor the pirates – the threat of continued wholesale theft of intellectual property persists in the Asia-Pacific region.
MPA-Asia/Pacific Web site |
