AsiA-PAcific Anti-PirAcy UPdAte

Asia-Pacific
Anti-Piracy Update
Issue 01 - 2008
malaysia
MPA DONATES SNIFFER DOGS TO
WORLD’S FIRST ANTI-PIRACY K-9 UNIT
Paddy and Manny follow successes of Lucky and Flo
On March 3, the Malaysian government
announced the establishment of a canine
(K-9) unit to assist in the detection of pirated
optical discs. The unit, the first of its kind in
the world, was set up within the Enforcement
Division of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and
Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) and comprises
two Labrador retrievers, their handlers and
enforcement officers.
to find optical discs in packages and
containers used by pirate syndicates for
smuggling stolen movies around the world,
spent several months in Malaysia working
with great success alongside enforcement
officers in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru and
Penang, as well as at border crossings,
sniffing out DVDs hidden at storage centers
as well as in packages bound for export.
The dogs, named Paddy and Manny, are
from Northern Ireland and through funding
from the Motion Picture Association,
underwent two months of training to identify
optical discs by scent. Last year, the MPA’s
Lucky and Flo, the world’s first dogs trained
The Malaysian government’s new K-9 unit
will target pirated DVD stores in underground
warehouses and retail shops with hidden
rooms, and focus on uncovering pirate
burner labs.
Paddy and Manny pant with anticipation at
sniffing out Malaysian optical disc pirates.
IN THIS ISSUE
Malaysia – World’s first DVD dog unit set up
1
Malaysia – 323 burners seized in Q1
2
Malaysia – MPA IP seminar
2
Japan – Policeman arrested for downloading
2
Japan – Pirate bank accounts targeted
3
Japan – Pirate discs sold as legitimate secondhand
3
Hong Kong – Customs acts against camcording
4
Hong Kong – Jackie Chan against film piracy
4
New Zealand – Pirate jailed for 14 months
4
New Zealand – Record burner lab raid
5
New Zealand – P2P education efforts continue
5
Philippines – 200,000 DVDs seized in Manila raids
5
China – MPA continues video contest outreach
8
China – MPA convenes UGC summit
8
India – Mumbai retailers raided
9
India – Palika Bazaar suppliers interdicted
9
Thailand – Moot Court winners visit Hong Kong
9
Thailand – Pirated goods destroyed at airport
9
Thailand – Entertainers march on police in Bangkok 10
Thailand – 200 burners seized in Bangkok
10
Australia – Blackout raids net 426 burners
10
Australia – Pirated discs imported from China
11
Australia – Pirate raided for third time in four months 11
Taiwan – Six arrested in two raids
11
Taiwan – P2P platform raided
12
Taiwan – Night market suppliers arrested
12
MDTCA K-9 unit dog handlers put Paddy and Manny through their paces in Putrajaya.
Asia-Pacific Anti-Piracy Update
malaysia
ELEVENTH PIRATE LAB RAID of year
NETS 323 DVD BURNERS
1,453 burners seized in first quarter
On March 27, ten officers from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and
Consumer Affairs (MDTCA), with the support of investigators from
the Malaysian Federation Against Copyright Theft (MFACT), which
represents the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in Malaysia, raided
a DVD-R burner lab in Kajang, seizing 323 DVD-R burners. MDTCA
officers also seized an estimated 30,000 pirated optical discs from
the facility, which was the eleventh burner lab to be raided and shut
this year.
The Kajang facility is believed to have been in operation for about four
months, and is estimated to have had an annual production capacity
of over 17.4 million pirated discs, generating potential revenue of
over US$51.2 million.
Just a day earlier, the enforcement team raided a burner lab in a
residence in Kuala Lumpur. Seizures in the raid included 69 DVD-R
burners and more than 50,000 pirated movie DVDs and computer
games CDs.
During the first quarter of 2008, anti-piracy enforcement agents
raided 11 burner labs and seized 1,453 burners. The seized burners
have the capacity to produce over 78 million discs a year, generating
potential revenue of over US$230 million.
malaysia
MPA CONDUCTS IP SEMINAR
TO SUPPORT PROSECUTORS’
IP DEVELOPMENT
From January 25–27, the Motion Picture Association (MPA),
Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and Ministry of Domestic
Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) jointly hosted a seminar in
Pahang on intellectual property enforcement and prosecution for 40
participants from the Attorney General’s Chambers and MDTCA.
The seminar, based on a manual co-authored by the MPA, was part
of the MPA’s ongoing effort to support the development of intellectual
property rights awareness and knowledge among prosecutors.
MDTCA officers inspecting burners seized in the March 27 raid.
Japan
POLICEman, OTHER MAN
ARRESTED IN LANDMARK
FILE-SHARING CASE
Downloaders charged for the first time
On March 24, the Association of Copyright for Computer Software
(ACCA) announced that the Environment and Consumer Protection
Division of the Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters and
Tsukushino Police Station had filed cases with the Fukuoka
prosecutor’s office against two men.
The men, a police officer stationed at the Hyogo Prefectural Police
Headquarters and the other a Fukuoka-based businessman, were
charged with violation of Rights of Public Transmission statutes for
having made map-making software transmittable to the public via
the Winny file-sharing software application in January.
The case represents a landmark prosecution in Japan because the
men had not deliberately (as in previous Winny prosecutions) offered
content for upload to other Winny users; rather, the prosecutors
noted that because Winny users’ computers are network “slaves”
that upload content according to network demand and regardless of
user preferences, downloaded content that is not cleared immediately
from the computer’s memory cache is “on offer” to other network
users at all times.
If the prosecution is successful, all users in Japan of Winny or Share
or other file-sharing software applications may be considered to
have violated Rights of Public Transmission statutes if they do not
clear their computers’ cache immediately following unauthorized
downloads of content.
Participants in the Intellectual Property Enforcement and Prosecution Seminar.
Issue 01 - 2008
Japan
OVERSEAS PIRATE WEB SELLERS TO BE TARGETED
THROUGH BANK ACCOUNTS
“Account freeze” strategy provides leverage over long distance pirates
There are major two types of distribution of counterfeit brand goods
and pirated goods through websites targeting Japanese consumers
living in Japan: sale of counterfeit brand goods via Japanese websites
that have servers based in other countries, and sale of counterfeit
brand goods through postings on local Internet auction sites. The
payments for counterfeit brand goods sold by these means are
collected in local bank accounts established by criminal groups, and
the cash is then withdrawn from automatic teller machines in cities
throughout Japan.
While some members of the criminal groups, or persons associated
with them, live in Japan, it is believed that the main suspects do
not live in Japan. Because there have been no reports of suspects
being arrested or effective measures being taken against websites
(e.g., closures) by law enforcement authorities in other countries,
and because investigations by Japanese police have yielded little
evidence other than active bank accounts, a strategy of targeting
sellers by “freezing” their bank accounts has been developed.
Japan
The opening of accounts and conducting of transactions at financial
institutions is subject to the regulations of individual institutions, and
those institutions regulate any suspension and/or cancellation of
transactions individually. Under the law, financial institutions have the right to
refuse processing of transactions if the customer fails to provide proper
identification for an account for which transactions have been frozen.
The “account freeze” strategy will see 1) rights holders investigation
of pirate sellers, 2) rights holder submission of information to the
Anti-Counterfeiting Association (ACA), 3) ACA request to financial
institution for freeze of account linked to criminal activity, 4) financial
institution request for confirmation from police, 5) on confirmation,
financial institution freeze of account, 6) police request of overseas
law enforcement agency for local action.
On January 16, JIMCA and IPR-related associations met with the
National Police Agency (NPA) to discuss the bank account freeze
strategy, and the NPA is in discussions with the Japanese Bankers
Association, targeting implementation of the strategy within 2008.
AUCTION SITE EXHIBITORS SELL PIRATE DVDS
AS LEGITIMATE SECONDHAND PRODUCT
Pricing closely tracks that of legitimate goods
Ongoing economic sluggishness in Japan that has inhibited new
production has also fostered a stronger market for secondhand
goods, many of which are sold via Internet auction sites. DVD
pirates are taking advantage of the increased volume of auction
site transactions to market pirated discs as legitimate secondhand
product. Pirates are setting prices for their illegal discs that closely
track the expected prices of secondhand product and these prices
are generally higher than the ‘normal’ market price for pirated DVDs,
eliminating one of the tools that consumers can use to determine
whether or not a product is legitimate.
As an example, the cost of a DVD box of 24 episodes of a TV drama
cost an average of 24,000 yen (US$218). The secondhand price of
product offered not long after legitimate release is not greatly less,
averaging perhaps 20,000 yen (US$182). Estimating production
costs for a pirated version at around 1,300 yen (US$12), it’s easy
to see that the sale of not many boxes (e.g. 1,000) would generate
enormous profits (e.g. US$170,000 in that example). In addition,
purchasers of secondhand goods have less doubt generally about
imperfect packaging as long as the discs themselves are in good
working order.
JIMCA is working with the police to identify and prosecute DVD pirates
using this method to defraud consumers and copyright owners. Most
recently, on January 22, following a JIMCA investigation, officers
from Kashihara Police Station arrested a 21-year old man who had
exhibited illegally replicated DVD-Rs of “Lost: Season 1” via auction
site and sold them in separate transactions to two women who
believed they were secondhand legitimate DVDs. Police had hoped
to prosecute the suspect for fraud as well as the Copyright Law
violations, but the man made restitution to the victims and the fraud
case was dropped.
China-made pirated discs sold as legitimate secondhand DVDs.
Asia-Pacific Anti-Piracy Update
Hong kong
CUSTOMS-BACKED ANTI-CAMCORDING MEASURES
ROLLED OUT DURING CHINESE NEW YEAR HOLIDAY
Anti-camcording scheme renewed
Measures to prevent the illegal camcording of movies in cinemas were
launched during the Chinese New Year holiday period and included
the deployment of plainclothes Customs officers to patrol cinemas
and the distribution to the public of thousands of leaflets bearing the
message that camcording is a criminal offence and providing guidance
to cinema patrons in the event they observe an illegal camcording.
Additionally, Hong Kong Customs officers joined industry
representatives to distribute anti-camcording leaflets to staff at Hong
Kong cinemas, and a program was renewed providing rewards
(US$257/HK$2,000 for each instance) for movie theatre employees
who detect illegal camcording.
Under Hong Kong law a person commits an offence if they have
(without authority or reasonable excuse) any video recording
equipment in a place of public entertainment. Anyone breaking the
law may be fined up to US$6,416 (HK$50,000) and imprisoned for
up to three months. The making of an infringing copy of a film for the
purpose of trade and business is a more serious offence punishable
by imprisonment for up to four years and a fine of up to US$6,416
(HK$50,000) per infringing copy.
Hong kong
JACKIE CHAN DELIVERS
‘THANK YOU’ MESSAGE TO
MOVIEGOERS IN HONG KONG
Press conference announcing anti-camcording measures.
New zealand
NEW ZEALAND PIRATE
JAILED FOR 14 MONTHS
50,000 fridge magnets distributed
Second-stiffest sentence ever
Over the Chinese New Year holidays, the International Federation
Against Copyright Theft – Greater China and the Hong Kong Theatres
Association distributed 50,000 MPA-sponsored refrigerator magnets
to Hong Kong moviegoers. The magnets feature a message from Hong
Kong movie star Jackie Chan: “Thank You for Purchasing Legitimate
Movies. Your Action Determines the Future of the Film Industry!”
On February 5, 29-year-old Jing Lin Wang was sentenced in
Auckland District Court to 14 months imprisonment after admitting
making and selling pirated movie DVDs and selling other property
stolen from shops. Following a joint investigation by police and
NZFACT investigators, Wang was arrested for having illegally copied
movies onto DVDs in his home and sold them for US$7.90 (NZ$10)
each at local markets.
The magnets acknowledge the support of the many Hong Kong
people who support the movie industry by watching and buying
legitimate movies. “Buy legal copies isn’t just a slogan, so put it into
action!” said Jackie Chan. “Support the film industry and show your
children that piracy is wrong!”
The sentence was the second-highest ever awarded in New Zealand
for movie piracy and reflects a growing awareness of the damage
piracy causes. In addition to increasingly heavy prison sentences,
fines in piracy cases have increased, and can be as much as
US$15,818 (NZ$20,000). In summing up the case, District Court
judge Barry Morris said the copyright offences had been treated as
seriously as the charges for selling stolen property.
Jing Lin Wang (pink shirt) in happier days, selling pirated discs at a market.
Issue 01 - 2008
New zealand
NEW ZEALAND’S
BIGGEST EVER BURNER
LAB EXTINGUISHED
Philippines
RAIDS ON MANILA AREA
RETAILERS NET 201,000
PIRATED DVDS
59 VCRs, 25 DVD players seized
Quiapo pirates assault police
On January 15, police and NZFACT investigators raided a cyber
café and video rental business in Auckland, arresting the 45-yearold proprietor and seizing 59 VCRs, 25 DVD players and more than
30,000 pirated DVDs.
On January 31, police and Optical Media Board officers, accompanied
by MPA representatives, raided pirate shops and stalls in Manila,
Pasig, and Makati, seizing 201,000 pirated discs worth an estimated
US$297,836.
The seizures were the largest ever in New Zealand, dwarfing the 2006
seizure of 18,000 pirated discs, and on arrival the raiding party found
all the VCRs and DVD players in action illegally duplicating movies.
The raid on Manila’s notorious Quiapo district met little initial resistance
from stallholders, until they noticed that the police officers were filling
sacks with DVDs and putting them into their personal vehicles (because
all of the official vehicles had been filled to capacity). Believing that the
officers were stealing their product, the stallholders started hurling
objects at the raiding party.
Some of the machines seized in the Auckland raid.
Anti-piracy officers bag seizures during the Quiapo raid.
New zealand
STAR WARS STAR LEADS EFFORT TO EDUCATE STUDENTS
ABOUT ILLEGAL FILE SHARING
MPA-developed booklet distributed to students
“Star Wars” star Temuera Morrison is leading an initiative to distribute
to students 75,000 copies of the MPA-developed booklet “Illegal
File-Sharing: The Risks Aren’t Worth It”. The booklets, which will
be distributed by teachers to 11-18 year old students at secondary
schools, outline the dangers of illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing,
including exposure of computers to harmful viruses, worms and
Trojan horses, and the risk of data loss and identity theft.
The effort, jointly undertaken by NZFACT and NetSafe, and
supported by the Ministry of Education, was launched on
February 21 at Learning@2008, an information and communication
technologies conference run by New Zealand’s Ministry of Education
and attended by 1,100 teachers, educators and administrators
from around New Zealand.
NetSafe is an internationally recognized cybersafety education
program organized by the New Zealand’s Internet Safety Group (ISG),
an independent non-profit organization with members representing
community organizations, parents, students, business, educators and
law enforcement agencies.
Temuera Morrison (center) with Tony Eaton, Executive Director, NZFACT (left) and
Martin Cocker, Executive Director, Netsafe.
Asia-Pacific Anti-Piracy Update
operations Across asia-pacific
Battling piracy through law enforcement initiatives
and intellectual property rights education
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Issue 01 - 2008
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Asia-Pacific Anti-Piracy Update
CHINA
MPA ANTI-PIRACY VIDEO CONTESTS AIM TO TAP
STUDENT/INTERNET USER CREATIVITY
Contest winner to travel to Hollywood
In January the MPA extended its efforts to
spread its anti-piracy message via Internet
in China by renewing its commitment to
organizing an anti-piracy video production
contest in association with the Beijing
Student Film Festival, and by teaming up
with Microsoft to launch a second antipiracy video production contest, aimed at
user-generated content (UGC) site users.
This year, the theme of the MPA-BSFF
contest, organized with the support of the
China Film Copyright Protection Association
CHINA
(CFCPA), was “Respect Copyrights, Uphold
Fair Competition, Protect Originality, Stay
Away from Piracy”.
The contest was open to China’s 20 million
university students and challenged them to
take a fresh look at the value of intellectual
property for both society and individuals.
The producer(s) of the best one-minute live
action or animation short film will win a trip
to Hollywood to visit MPA member company
film studios. Last year’s contest saw a dozen
film students receive awards, and the overall
contest winner traveled to Hollywood to meet
MPA member company executives.
The MPA’s initiative with Microsoft will see the
launch later this year of an anti-piracy digital
video contest with the theme “Love Genuine,
Protect Intellectual Property Rights”.
China’s Internet user base, now estimated at
210 million, is expected to become the world’s
largest later this year. Positive engagement
with Internet users is a key element of the
MPA’s educational outreach strategy.
MPA CONVENES SUMMIT OF USER-GENERATED
CONTENT WEBSITE PROVIDERS
Relationship-building, cooperation on content protection the goals
On March 24, the MPA moderated a summit
meeting of representatives of the six major
Chinese user-generated content (UGC)
websites. The six sites, tuduo.com, youku.
com, 6rooms.com, ouou.com, pomoho.com
and 56.com, together account for more than
90 percent of UGC content in China.
The summit, focusing on relationshipbuilding and enhancing cooperation on
content protection, opened with an address
from Xu Chao, the Deputy Director General
of the National Copyright Administration
of China (NCAC) Copyright Department.
Other attendees included two other
NCAC officials, four officials from the State
Attendees at the summit.
Administration of Radio, Film and Television
(SARFT) and representatives from MPA
member companies.
Significant progress was made on objectives
set by the MPA after consultations with
member companies, and the UGC site
representatives reached agreement on four
key issues.
The sites will: include clauses in their enduser agreements that prohibit uploading of
infringing content, and give the sites the right
to remove such content at their discretion;
provide contact details for receiving and acting
on takedown notices; recognize MPA member
company designates as trusted parties in
responding quickly to takedown notices; and
explore the need/potential for working with
the MPA to create takedown tools to improve
the efficiency of takedown procedures.
In addition, discussions were opened on the
use of filtering technology by the sites, and all
agreed to discuss approaches to compliance
with the SARFT/Ministry of Information
Industry Rules for the Administration of
Internet Audiovisual Program Services, issued
in January, as well as the possibility of entering
into a Memorandum of Understanding and/
or the adoption of a China UGC Principles
Agreement.
Issue 01 - 2008
india
POLICE AND MPA RAID
LEADING MUMBAI PIRATE
RETAILERS
india
DELHI RAIDS INTERDICT
SUPPLIERS TO PIRACY
HOTSPOT PALIKA BAZAAR
On February 21, police officers from the Andheri (East) district of
Mumbai, accompanied by representatives from the MPA, raided a
stall opposite the Andheri (East) railway station, seizing 4,223 pirated
DVDs and CDs and arresting the 20-year-old owner.
On March 29, working on information developed by the MPA’s
investigators, Delhi police raided a wholesaler in Palika Bazaar,
arresting the owner and seizing 1,645 pirated DVDs.
Two days later, Mumbai police officers from the Mira Road district,
accompanied by representatives from the MPA, raided a video rental
library, City Electronic, in Hadri Chowk, Mira Road (East) Thane. The raid
resulted in the seizure of 2,860 pirated DVDs and CDs and seven DVD
burners, as well as the arrest of the owner, 24 year-old Afzal Ahmed.
The owner provided details about his supplier, suspected of
providing pirated discs to other wholesalers in Palika Bazaar, and on
March 30 police and MPA investigators raided the man’s residence
in Inderpuri, arresting him and seizing 1,078 VCDs and DVDs and
four CD burners.
On March 6, police and MPA representatives raided three rental
libraries and two stalls in Mumbai’s Mira Road, arresting five men and
seizing over 4,000 DVDs and CDs. The MPA is working with the police
to ensure that all those arrested will be prosecuted.
The next day, police and MPA investigators arrested three more men
who supplied pirated discs to shops in Palika Bazaar, seizing 1,000
pirated DVDs.
Thailand
THAILAND MOOT COURT COMPETITION WINNERS
INTRODUCED TO HONG KONG LEGAL INFRASTRUCTURE
MPA-backed competition produced “Young Thai IP Law Ambassadors”
From March 10-16, Akareeya Ngamwongpaiboon and Pawat
Satayanurug, students from the Law Faculty of Thailand’s Chulalongkorn
University who were first runner-ups in an MPA-backed Moot Court
competition, visited Hong Kong on a week-long study tour.
Court and met with Richard Turnbull, Deputy Principal Government
Counsel, who introduced Hong Kong’s legal system, IPR laws and
prosecution procedures.
The competition was held in Bangkok from November 2-16, 2007
and was supported by a wide range of IP-related organizations,
including the MPA, with the aim of inspiring law students to pursue
careers in intellectual property law. One hundred students from 10
major Thai universities competed in teams of two to earn the title of
“Young Thai IP Law Ambassadors”.
IFACT-GC staff organized a wide range of activities to introduce the
students to Hong Kong and local IPR protection issues, including
a visit to the Customs and Excise exhibits warehouse and seizure
museum, where the process of identifying pirated optical discs
was demonstrated. The visitors also attended a trial at the District
Thailand
Sam Ho of IFACT-GC accompanied Akareeya Ngamwongpaiboon and Pawat
Satayanurug on a tour of Hong Kong’s night market.
COUNTERFEIT AND PIRATED GOODS DESTROYED IN CEREMONY
AT BANGKOK’S SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORTS
40,000 pirated discs incinerated
On January 29, the Customs Department incinerated 6,543 kilograms
of pirated and counterfeit goods seized at Suvarnabhumi Airport,
included an estimated 40,000 pirated discs, worth an estimated
THB7.2 million (US$218,182)
In addition to the pirated optical discs, the destroyed pirate goods
included fashion accessories, clothes, bags, pens, watches, games,
cigarettes, cosmetics, car parts, mobile phones and drugs.
The event was widely reported in the press and broadcast nationwide
on television, reinforcing the message that the authorities are
determined to tackle copyright piracy.
Pirated and counterfeit goods await incineration.
Asia-Pacific Anti-Piracy Update
Thailand
ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES MARCH IN BANGKOK
AGAINST POLICE INACTION ON PIRACY
Bangkok’s Klongtom, Banmor districts targeted for increased enforcement
On February 5, 500 representatives from the Thai and overseas
entertainment industries (including rights holders, singers, performers,
directors and movie stars) protested against a lack of police action
against movie piracy in Bangkok’s Klongtom and Banmor districts.
The industry representatives, carrying posters emblazoned “Stop
Piracy”, “Stop Corruption” and “Stop Piracy: Say No to Piracy”,
gathered outside the Pubplachai police station, which is responsible
for policing the piracy black spots. The representatives also
submitted a letter of protest to the police, reminding them about
previous promises the police had made – and failed to keep – to take
action against pirates.
The protesters rallied in front of the Pubplachai police station.
Thailand
The protest received widespread coverage on national TV channels
and in Thai newspapers and there is a degree of optimism among
industry representatives that the police will increase action against
piracy in Klongtom and Banmor.
BANGKOK BURNER LAB WAS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
FIVE MILLION PIRATED DISCS A YEAR
200 optical disc burners seized
During the early hours of February 19, following investigations
by the MPA, 20 officers from the Economic and Technological
Crime Suppression Division (ECOTEC) of the Royal Thai Police,
accompanied by MPA representatives raided a residence in Bangkok,
arresting three men and three women, and seizing 170 DVD-R and
30 CD-R burners, 45,000 pirated DVD-Rs and CD-Rs, and 22,000
optical disc artwork sleeves.
While most of the seized titles infringed Thai movies just released
in cinemas, among the seizures were 1,000 discs infringing MPA
member company titles. The burner lab allegedly supplied pirated
discs at approximately THB30 (US$1) to pirate vendors in and
around Bangkok who then retailed them for THB100 (US$3). The
seized burners are estimated to have been capable of producing
as many as five million pirated discs in one year, yielding potential
revenues of US$15 million.
AUSTRALIA
The seized burners were capable of producing pirated discs worth US$15 million.
AUSTRALIAN ANTI-PIRACY RAIDS NET 426 DVD-R BURNERS,
660,000 PIRATED OPTICAL DISCS
Internet distributors a special focus of raids
During the MPA’s Operation Blackout that ran from November 2007
to January 2008, AFACT assisted state and federal police in ten
raids resulting in the seizure of 426 DVD-R burners and an estimated
660,000 pirated DVDs. The raids targeted producers and distributors
of pirated movies, particularly those distributed via the Internet.
10
Australia has witnessed a considerable increase in burner operations
over the past few years. The number of DVD-R burners seized in
2007 increased 300 percent compared to 2006; and pirated disc
seizures in 2007 increased 561 percent compared to 2006.
Issue 01 - 2008
AUSTRALIA
PIRATE INTERNET SELLER HAD
IMPORTED PIRATED DISCS FROM CHINA
MPA’s Australia, New Zealand offices coordinate cross-Tasman operation
On January 24, the Australian Federal Police
(AFP), supported by AFACT investigators,
raided the home in Caulfield South in
Victoria of a 62-year-old man and seized
an estimated 4,000 pirated DVD movies.
Seizures included pirated copies of “3:10
To Yuma”, which had opened in Australian
theatres only days earlier.
AUSTRALIA
The man was suspected of importing,
selling and distributing unauthorised copies
of DVD movies over the Internet, and had
been using post office boxes to import pirate
DVDs from China and then selling them
on various online auction sites in Australia
and overseas. The auction sites included
the high-profile eBay website, Oztion and
Trademe in New Zealand. In collaboration
with AFACT, the New Zealand Federation
Against Copyright Theft (NZFACT) monitored
Trademe, and identified the suspect, who
was trading pirated DVDs.
The suspect is expected to be charged
with offences under the Copyright and
Trademark Acts.
ONE LAB, THREE RAIDS, FOUR MONTHS:
258 BURNERS, 450,000 PIRATE DVDS
70 burners seized in latest raid in Melbourne suburb
On March 11, following extensive surveillance
by AFACT, Victorian Police, assisted by
AFACT investigators, raided a commercial
premises in Melbourne’s western suburbs
and seized 70 optical disc burners capable of
producing 1.7 million DVDs with a street value
of over US$6.5 million (A$7 million) a year.
to have been behind Australia’s biggest
ever seizures of pirated movie DVDs. On
January 22, Victorian Police, assisted by
the Australian Federal Police and AFACT
investigators, raided the man’s St Albans
residence and seized 100 DVD burners and
over 250,000 pirated DVDs. That same day,
two further search warrants were executed
on two residential premises in St Albans
where 70 DVD burners and over 150,000
pirated DVDs were seized.
Along with the recently purchased burners,
police seized over 7,000 DVD-Rs infringing
DVD movies and television shows, plus eight
brand new printers and computer equipment.
The seizures included copies of “There
Will Be Blood” and “Jumper”, which are
currently showing in Australian cinemas and
are not yet legitimately available on DVD,
and copies of episodes 1-9 of the Australian
taiwan
television show “Underbelly”, which is not
yet legitimately available on DVD.
A 41-year-old man, assisting police with
their enquiries in this case, is also alleged
On November 20, 2007, Victorian Police
had previously raided the same St Albans
residential premises, on that occasion
seizing 88 DVD burners and over 200,000
pirated DVDs.
RAIDS IN TAOYUAN, TAIPEI COUNTIES
YIELD 203 BURNERS
Six arrested in two operations
On February 4, acting on information
provided by a member of the public, TFACT
and IPR Police officers raided a DVD-R
burner lab in Taoyuan County, arresting four
men, aged 14-37, and seizing 105 optical
disc burners and 5,738 pirated discs.
The lab was operated by a family, which
provided pirated discs to night markets in
the Taoyuan and Hsinchu areas.
Among the seized discs, 1,072 infringed
108 MPA member company titles including
“National Treasure: Book of Secrets”,
“American Gangster”, “I Am Legend” and,
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of
Fleet Street”. Had the operation remained in
business for one year, it could have produced
as many as 5.67 million DVD-Rs, generating
potential revenues of US$17.57 million.
On February 28, TFACT, again acting on
information provided by a member of the
public and again in coordination with the IPR
Police, raided a DVD-R lab in Taipei County.
Two men were arrested, and 98 burners and
38,059 pirated discs were seized. Had this
Raids followed tips from citizens.
operation remained in business for one year,
it could have produced as many as 5.29
million discs, generating potential revenues
of US$16.4 million.
11
Asia-Pacific Anti-Piracy Update
taiwan
TFACT supports
MJIB raid on pirate
P2P platform
taiwan
RAID ON PIRATE DVD-R
LAB OPERATION IN
TAOYUAN COUNTY
Investigation leads to application provider
25 burners seized, three arrested
On March 14, TFACT supported a Bureau of Investigation, Ministry
of Justice (MJIB) raid against Sinu, a portal website http://www.sinu.
com.tw that provided a P2P software application on its webpage to
encourage users to download illegal movies at high speeds, giving
users a choice of over a thousand pirated movies.
On January 16, acting on a tip, TFACT and the IPR Police raided a DVDR lab in Taoyuan County, discovering 25 DVD-R burners in operation
reproducing “American Gangster.” Officers seized 3,047 pirated discs
and three packages of drugs from the lab, which is suspected of having
supplied pirated discs to the night market in Taoyuan.
TFACT had monitored the site for more than two months and after
gathering sufficient evidence, including downloads of 67 pirated MPA
member company titles, passed the information to the MJIB for action.
Three suspects, a 36 year-old man, a 17-year-old boy, and a
16-year-old boy were arrested, and it is believed that the adult
suspect, previously arrested in 2003, 2004, and 2005 for copyright
infringement, used drugs to induce the two juveniles to work for him.
During the adult suspect’s arrest in 2004, police discovered a pistol
and 23 swords in his possession, along with 4,071 pirated discs.
The website was operated by Rhino Entertainment, Ltd., and TFACT’s
investigations showed many similarities between Rhino’s operations
and those of “Foxy”, another provider of infringing movies through a
P2P platform, which had been raided earlier by MJIB after TFACT
investigation.
After questioning, the 34-year-old owner of Rhino confirmed that
Sinu’s P2P software application had been copied from and was
supported by Foxy. In return for Foxy’s support, Sinu paid Foxy 50%
of its advertising revenue.
After the raid, the operators of Sinu.com and Foxy.com, a 34-year-old
man and a 56-year-old man, were indicted and charged with violating
Article 87 of the Copyright Law, which prohibits transmitting or
assisting the transmission of files on Internet without the authorization
of the rights owner. The two suspects face possible sentences of up
to two years in jail and/or a US$17,000
Over 3,000 pirated discs were seized.
Investigators conduct a search at Sinu.com.
Among the seized discs, hundreds infringed 29 MPA member
company titles including “National Treasure: Book Of Secrets”,
“American Gangster”, “Ratatouille”, “The Game Plan”, “Die Hard 4.0”,
“Evan Almighty”, “I Am Legend”, “Alien vs. Predator 2”, “30 Days Of
Night”, “Rush Hour 3”, “Transformers”, “Beowulf”, and “Bee Movie”.
Had the operation remained in business, the burners could have
produced an estimated 1.35 million DVD-Rs in a year, generating
potential revenue of US$4.185 million.
MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION - INTERNATIONAL
Asia-Pacific Regional Office
No. 1 Magazine Road
#04-07 Central Mall
Singapore 059567
12
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