ifpi bulletin number 22.qxd

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lletin
Issue 22
March 2004
Record industry files first civil claims against CD Plant in Russia
he international recording
industry began a new offensive
in December 2003 against CD
plants in Russia producing
unauthorised optical discs that are
exported all over the world.
T
IFPI, representing over 1,500
companies globally, has filed seven
separate claims for damages
totalling US$1,366,600 against a
CD plant in Russia, the country with
the biggest music pirate market in
the world after China. These claims
are the first of a series of civil
proceedings to be taken against
optical disc plants in Russia
producing unauthorised CDs.
The Moscow-based manufacturing
plant, Russobit-Soft, is alleged to
have manufactured counterfeit CDs
by artists including Depeche Mode,
Destiny's Child, Enrique Iglesias,
Macy Gray, Michael Jackson,
Radiohead, Whitney Houston and
Westlife. This is the same plant
that, in August of 2002, suffered
the temporary suspension of its
licence under the CD Plant
Licensing Regulations covering
audiovisual works and phonograms,
although it continues to
manufacture discs containing
software.
Records Group Limited and Warner
Music Austria GesmbH.
The plaintiff companies are
claiming a combined indemnity of
40 million roubles, or
US$1,400,000 million, as well as a
prohibition on future manufacture
of the titles alleged to have been
illegally manufactured by Russobit
and the confiscation of machinery
and equipment used to produce
them.
The cases are being brought on
behalf of Arista Records Inc, BMG
UK & Ireland Limited, EMI Music
International Services Limited, Mute
Records Limited, LLC Sony Music
Entertainment (Russia), Sanctuary
In this issue:
Irish Police smash organised
CD & DVD burning operation
raid by Gardai officers on nine
premises on Friday 5th December
2003 recovered counterfeit goods
exceeding one million Euros in value.
A
This is the largest seizure of
counterfeit CDs and DVDs in Ireland
and the first occasion that replication
equipment has been discovered. A
total of 42 high-speed CD burners
with the capacity to manufacture
over 3,000 discs a day were seized.
During the raids a €75,000 Jeep,
believed to be used in the distribution
of the counterfeit product was also
confiscated.
The sophisticated illegal operation
was run by a Dundalk family, one of
whom was arrested and detained
during the raids. The police
authorities believe that the one
million Euros haul was destined for
the Christmas market.
The world trade in counterfeit and
fake products is estimated to amount
to €4.4 billion. In Europe, film, video,
music, business and software
industries alone suffer losses in
excess of €4.5 billion annually. Irish
businesses are estimated to lose
€750 million in trade to
counterfeiting annually.
Source: IRMA Ireland
(continued page 10)
2
United Kingdom
3
Netherlands
Greece
Poland
4
Ukraine
Lithuania
5
Brazil
Paraguay
6
U.S.A.
Israel
7
Kazakhstan
Russia
Siberia
Nigeria
8
Malaysia
Philippines
9
Thailand
Taiwan
10
Taiwan
Thailand
11
Industry news
Litigation
IFPI Training
12
Largest seizure in Ireland of counterfeit
CDs/DVDs and CDR equipment by Gardai
Newsbites
South Korea
Meetings & Events
IFPI publications
People News
Diary 2004
Regional news:
Europe (W)
UNITED KINGDOM
Record seizures at Wembley market
uring the seven week period
leading up to Christmas, a
series of high visibility inspections at
Wembley Sunday Market by the
Trading Standards Service netted
thousands of counterfeit CDs, DVDs
and clothing.
D
The joint operation was organised by
Brent and Harrow Trading Standards
Service as part of a zero tolerance
approach to complaints from
legitimate stall holders regarding
counterfeit and unsafe goods being
sold at Wembley market. The
operation involved the Police, the
Immigration Service, other Brent
Council Departments, the British
Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the
Federation Against Copyright Theft
(F.A.C.T). A number of trademark
owners were also present to identify
brands that were being
counterfeited. A spokesperson from
the Anti Counterfeiting Group stated:
Everyone likes a bargain, but many
“E
consumers are prepared to buy
counterfeit goods because they
don't realise that this is the tip of a
massive criminal iceberg. Trading
Standards work extremely hard to
protect the public and honest local
retailers from this escalating
criminal activity and Brent &
Harrow's team is setting the
standard for effective enforcement.”
Mohammed Tariq, Investigator for
the BPI stated: “TThe continuous
investigation over this period has
been very successful. Our thanks go
to Brent & Harrow Trading
Standards Service in helping us
eradicate this iniquitous trade.”
Giles Speid, Principal Trading Standards Enforcement Officer, who leads the
Wembley operation, stated: “This has been the most successful operation in
clearing counterfeit goods from a market. The support from the Police has
been invaluable in ensuring the correct details were obtained from traders,
particularly from those we intend to prosecute. This operation has no end
date so any persistent offenders at the market will be brought before the
courts. Wembley Market had gained a notorious reputation for the
availability of illegal goods. A number of traders signed over the goods for
destruction accepting that their items were counterfeit. However, some
will face prosecution as a result of being persistent offenders, or for
supplying unsafe and dangerous electrical items.”
Raid results in million
pound haul and five
arrests in Doncaster
huge anti-piracy investigation
conducted by the BPI and FACT
in and around Doncaster concluded
successfully with a massive raid on
Doncaster's Denaby market on 13th
February.
A
Police and Doncaster Trading
Standards moved swiftly on a
number of identified targets after
investigations unearthed a huge
organised crime network in the
Doncaster area. Over a series of
raids in early February, a number of
arrests were made and almost half
a million music and film discs were
seized.
Information gathered during a sixmonth investigation first led to a
car-boot sale in nearby Stainforth,
which was raided on 23rd January.
Over 200,000 illegal discs were
seized there before investigators hit
a factory, also in the Doncaster
area, on 29th January.
The factory was believed to have
been supplying a number of local
traders as well as an illegal internet
mail order trader.
“The Denaby raid concludes a
highly successful cross-agency
operation. In working closely
with
FACT,
Police
and
Doncaster Trading Standards
we have shown that effective
co-operation is essential to
tackling piracy effectively.”
David Martin, BPI Director of
Anti-Piracy
Source: BPI
Giles Speid (left) and Mohammed Tariq after the raids at Wembley market
2
EB 22 - Mar 04
Regional news:
Europe (W)/(E)
NETHERLANDS
POLAND
Organised crime piracy group busted
New Optical Disc
Regulations adopted
the criminal anti-piracy
enforcement team of Dutch
FIOD-ECD recently completed its
investigation into an organised
criminal group. The investigation
resulted in the seizure of 17,000
pirate CDs and DVDs. Five people
were also arrested.
T
Hindi repertoire. The 2,000 seized
pirate DVDs contained recent
motion pictures such as Brother
Bear, Finding Nemo and Lord of the
Rings III. In addition to CDs and
DVDs, 12 computers,
documentation and two firearms
were seized.
Sixty police officers carried out
simultaneous raids on different
addresses, including a known
CD/DVD plant, throughout the
Netherlands. BREIN were on hand to
assist FIOD-ECD identify the suspect
pirate products, as well as a
representative of the Indian Music
Industry association, since some of
the 15,000 pirate product contained
This investigation began six months
ago after 3,000 pirate music CDs
were seized in a Dutch CD plant.
During this period, it is believed that
the pirates produced about 150,000
pirate CDs and DVDs which were
sold via an extensive underground
network.
Source: FIOD-ECD/Brein Netherlands
GREECE
2003 anti-piracy results: best year to date
igures from the Greek National
Group show 2003 as the most
productive year in the fight against
music piracy in Greece.
F
A total of 1.1 million CDs, CDRs and
MCs (an increase of 46.38% from
2002) were confiscated during
seizures involving National Group
investigators. Furthermore, an
additional 521,345 CDs, CDRs and
MCs (a rise of 33.10% from 2002)
were confiscated by Greek Police on
their own initiative and without
IFPI's participation, bringing the
grand total of seized pirate product
in Greece to 1.6 million units.
The 41.92% rise in the number of
seized products shows both the
extent of music piracy in Greece and
The adopted amendments must
now move to the Senate from where
they will be submitted for
endorsement by the President.
In tandem with this process, the
Minister of Culture is preparing a
draft of secondary regulation, which
provides for detailed and regular
reporting by the OD production
plants in Poland.
IFPI applauds this development and
anticipates the system will be fully
in line with its recommendations to
the Polish government, covering:
Government ministry
supervision of the material
being reproduced in OD
plants
Obligation by OD plants to
use IFPI/Philips
identification codes in all
devices and their elements
during optical disc
production process
Auditing of production
records vis a vis Ministry
authorisations
Plant inspections
the ongoing efforts by the Greek
anti-piracy unit to combat the
problem.
Of 1.6 million pirate units,
approximately 49.4% (817,678
units) were seized during 79 raids
on duplication plants and
distribution centres. Such major
strikes have risen dramatically since
2002 (329,133 units in 38 raids)
and is a direct result of good
relations with police departments
and increased awareness of the
importance of such targets.
During 2003, 1,941 individuals were
prosecuted for participating in music
piracy. Only 146 of them were
Greeks while the rest, some 90%,
were immigrants.
Source: IFPI Greece
EB 22 - Mar 04
he Polish National Group, ZPAV,
has welcomed the Polish
parliament SEJM’s recent adoption
of certain amendments to the
Copyright Law, which include
provisions regulating optical disc
(OD) production. This is the first
such regulation in any of the East
European countries soon to join the
EU. Poland will be a full member of
the European Union as of May 2004.
T
Poland has an expanding and
developing OD industry, with seven
operating plants at present, and an
estimated capacity of some 385
million optical discs per year.
Source: ZPAV Poland
3
Regional news:
Europe (E)
UKRAINE
LITHUANIA
Police uncover illegal warehouse in Ukraine
Criminal Police reports
on recent seizures
joint investigation between
Ukrainian law enforcement and
IFPI Kiev has led to a major raid on
an illegal warehouse located in a
private flat. Over 210,000 inlays for
video and music and more than
26,000 music and video DVDs were
seized on the premises. This
operation is the biggest seizure ever
made in Ukraine involving illegal
DVD (music and video).
A
During 2003 the majority of new
releases found on the territory of
Ukraine, Poland and other European
countries have originated in Russia.
Because of the small numbers of
customs seizures in the Eastern
European region, knowledge of the
smuggling routes and techniques
that are used by the criminals has
remained scant or speculative. In
2003 investigations by regional
enforcement to identify possible
smuggling channels and the persons
involved allowed the identification of
one of the criminal groups
transporting DVDs and CDs from
Russia into Eastern European
countries via Ukraine.
The regular trains from Moscow and
Saint Petersburg have long been
used for transportation of pirate
products. The train conductors have
been known to provide security for
the illegal cargo and are responsible
for settling problems that might
arise with customs. As is apparent
from the methods used in this form
of transit, those involved in technical
support to the trains can also be
involved in this illegal activity.
In this breakthrough case, it was
identified that after shipment by
train to Kiev, inlays for illegal discs
were printed at a local printing
house. The booklets were of a very
high standard. Some CDs/DVDs
were distributed in Ukraine, but the
majority were forwarded to the
railway station in Kiev and
transported to Poland.
During the investigation, the
identities of some of the players in
the pirate operation were
established, along with the location
of the transit warehouse. Ukrainian
law enforcement initiated a joint
investigation with IFPI Kiev, based
upon the information elicited,
leading to a raid on the illegal
warehouse.
Among the seized discs was music
including Enigma ‘Remember the
Future’, Joe Cocker ‘Live’, Pink Floyd
‘Passione’, Roxette ‘The Complete
Collection 1987-2001’, Santana
‘Sacred Fire’ and Eminem ‘E’. A
number of film titles and prerelease
videos such as ‘Freddy vs. Jason’,
‘Kill Bill’, ‘Master and Commander’
were also seized. The discs'
label/upper side were printed in
Polish, Czech and English language.
During the raid a key individual who
had extensive contacts with wellknown crime groups and
connections with pirate distributors
and suppliers abroad was detained.
A criminal case was opened and an
investigation into the international
links is ongoing.
Source: IFPI Kiev
Illegal discs found in the private flat
4
he music industry remains very
concerned at the increase of optical
disc production capacity in Russia.
Effective anti-piracy enforcement is
crucial in the Baltic States if Russian
manufactured discs are to be prevented
from destroying emerging local music
markets and transiting the Baltic States
for onward traffic to Western Europe.
The potential threat to international
markets of any increase in local optical
disc manufacturing, beyond that
required for legitimate demand, must
also be monitored.
T
The creation, by the Police
Commissioner General, of the
Intellectual Property Protection
subdivision within the Crime
Investigation Bureau of the Lithuanian
Criminal Police is a welcome
development. This specialised unit is
complemented by the introduction of
the new criminal code which came into
force on 1st May 2003. In 2003,
following the introduction of the code,
the unit instituted 30 criminal
investigations and dealt with 31
administrative violations, seizing 57,085
infringing units.
The efforts of the IP subdivision were
supplemented by officers of territorial
police institutions in Lithuania. In 2003,
these officers initiated 54 criminal
investigations and dealt with 125
administrative violations, seizing in
excess of 81,600 infringing units.
During one exemplary investigation,
officers of the Crime Investigation Board
of the Criminal Police Bureau seized
over 14,500 copyright infringing units
from premises associated with UAB
'Geksina' in Kaunas.
The local and international music
industry applaud these actions by the
Lithuanian Police Service and look
forward to continuing cooperation in
eliminating the scourge of music piracy
from the Lithuanian market.
Source: Lithuanian Criminal
Police Bureau
EB 22 - Mar 04
Regional news:
Latin America
BRAZIL
PARAGUAY
Music industry salutes Curitiba’s Attorney
Paraguay/USA sign IPR
MoU to fight piracy
n 5th February, Curitiba's
Criminal Jurisdiction Attorney,
Dr. Pedro Carvalho Santos, was
presented with a plaque by IFPI's
Brazilian National Group and IFPI
Latin America in recognition of his
important contribution to the fight
against piracy in Brazil.
O
Last year, Dr. Carvalho organised a
criminal investigation that closed
the ‘MP3 FOREVER’ website
(www.mp3forever.com.br and
www.comerciocuritiba.com) and
resulted in the arrest of the owner of
the site. Computer equipment,
burners and CDs used for illegal
recordings were also seized.
MP3 FOREVER provided its users
with an Internet catalogue of over
10,000 albums for residential
delivery and around 80,000 songs
for immediate downloading via their
‘virtual club’ subscription
established some years ago .
This case has had wide exposure in
Brazil's media, not only because of
the immense musical catalogue
being offered illegally to its users,
but by setting a precedent for future
cases, being the first in which an
“Internet pirate” has been arrested
in Brazil.
Parana State's Criminal
Investigations Office (PIC), headed
by Dr. Carvalho Santos, is currently
developing another important piracy
investigation soon to yield results.
fforts to strengthen the legal
protection and enforcement of
intellectual property rights in
Paraguay took a significant step
forward in December 2003 with the
signature of a Memorandum of
Understanding between the
governments of the USA and
Paraguay. The MOU places specific
obligations on the Paraguayan
Authorities to legislate for more
comprehensive intellectual property
protection, and develop effective
enforcement mechanisms aimed at
reducing the high levels of copyright
piracy in the territory.
E
As a direct result of lobbying by IFPI
Latin America and APDIF Paraguay,
the MOU mandates the
establishment of a national Register
of Importers of Optical Media and
Raw Materials, to facilitate easier
identification of the sources of
blanks CDRs which so heavily
dominate the market for pirated
music. The enhanced legislation,
when implemented, will be enforced
in part by a newly established IPR
Unit within the Customs Authority.
IFPI and APDIF (Paraguay) will play
a fundamental role in training
officers posted to this new unit.
Reports by IFPI LAM
L-R: Emilio Garcia, Ana Claudia O. Facioli, Dr Pedro Carvalho Santos being presented
with IFPI plaque, Juan Luis Marturet, Jorge E. Grahl, Valdemar Gomes Ribeiro
Major operations in Sao Paolo
multi-jurisdictional task force
consisting of enforcement
representatives from six law
enforcement entities executed a
major operation in Sao Paulo, Brazil
on 20th November 2003. A total of
40 tractor trailers of illicit goods
were seized which included
approximately one million blank
CDRs and 55,000 recorded CDRs.
The operation, headed by the
A
EB 22 - Mar 04
Congressional Investigating
Committee against Piracy (CPI),
targeted wholesalers and
distributors of a variety of pirate
products from recorded CDs, blank
CDRs, movies, software and other
goods. The action focused mainly on
Sao Paulo's infamous Rua 25 de
Marzo where thousands of vendors
and wholesalers peddle these
products on a regular basis.
Large quantities of illicit goods were
seized in Sao Paolo’s Rua 25 de Marzo
5
Regional news:
N.America/M.East
U.S.A.
RIAA and law enforcement authorities raid underground CD plant
ollowing a six month joint
investigation by REACT Task
Force (FBI, State and Local
Investigators) and the United States
Secret Service Electronic Crimes
Task Force, warrants were executed
on 6th February at an underground
CD plant and a private residence
where a total of 55,000
unauthorised CDs, 1,600 stampers
and 38 CDR burners were seized.
F
Discs found during the raids by police
The investigation commenced when
RIAA investigators in California
noticed, during the latter part of
2002 and all of 2003, an increase in
the amount of unauthorised pressed
CDs throughout the area. Many of
the discs had intentional scratches
in the mirror ring to hide the identity
of the manufacturer. Thousands of
these CDs were examined and some
were also sent to IFPI's Forensic Unit
in order to identify the source. The
Forensic Unit was able to confirm
that all of the product was made at
the same facility but were unable to
identify the source.
During the course of the
investigation, a possible source
location was identified and
exemplars obtained. These were
forwarded to IFPI's Forensic Unit
who subsequently positively
identified a match with the product
previously seized in the area.
On 6th February, three federal
search warrants were executed and
the target location raided. In
addition to the unauthorised discs
and stampers, the authorities
confiscated 755,000 sets of
counterfeit/pirate inserts and tray
cards and numerous computers,
cash and related business
documents.
Based upon documents seized
during the searches, this
underground facility had the
capacity to manufacture and
distribute unauthorised discs to a
value in excess of 52 million dollars.
Mike George
RIAA
Equipment confiscated from the plant
ISRAEL
New Year’s Eve raids
Undercover operations
expose CDR labs
ollowing an extensive
surveillance operation
undertaken by IFPI Israel
investigators, a raid was conducted
by police authorities on a ‘Spa Club’
in the industrial area of Tel-Aviv in
early December 2003. It had been
established that the premises were
used as a burning laboratory for
counterfeit CDs and, on the day of
the raid, officers successfully
recovered 14 CDR burners and a
large quantity of infringing discs.
Two suspects were arrested and
face indictment in the near future.
F
Tel Aviv: samples found during raid
Less than prosperous new year for pirates
6
n a similar action conducted in
Rammallah, a protracted
undercover operation during the
latter part of 2003 led to raids on
three CDR laboratories
manufacturing illegal music
products. Whilst most of Ramallah's
citizens were enjoying New Year's
Eve celebrations, officers moved in
to arrest a number of suspects
found operating a total of 84
burners. More than 50,000 pirated
products were intercepted and will
now form the basis of criminal
charges against those arrested.
I
Source: Moti Amitay, IFPI Israel
EB 22 - Mar 04
Regional news:
Russia & CIS/Africa
KAZAKHSTAN
RUSSIA
SIBERIA
Cassette factory raid
Illegal warehouse raided
fficers from the Finance Police
Department of Kazakhstan
raided an underground
manufacturing plant, producing
counterfeit audio cassettes from the
basement of a private house. During
the raid in November 2003, nine
cassette replication machines were
seized, with a production capacity of
more than 300,000 cassettes per
month.
O
istrict Prosecutors in Moscow
initiated a criminal action
against a company operating an
underground warehouse from which
they distributed counterfeit audio
products. Assisted by IFPI
Enforcement personnel, the police
seized in excess of 200,000
infringing music CDs which will now
form part of criminal charges
against the warehouse operators.
CDR lab uncovered in
high security prison
Police also discovered 852 master
discs and a huge quantity of insert
sleeves. A local businessman was
detained and faces criminal
charges.
The increasing determination of
Russian Authorities to eradicate
music piracy was reflected in a
sentence handed down to a factory
owner whose company were
responsible for the production of
some 234,500 pirated discs. The
defendant received a one year term
of imprisonment, and was ordered
to pay damages of US$180,000 in
favour of rights holders whose works
had been infringed.
Reports from Sergei Avdienko
IFPI Enforcement, Russia/CIS
D
olice in Novosibirsk have located
a CD burning laboratory inside a
high-security prison, producing
counterfeit audio CDs and cassettes
which are believed to have supplied
West Siberian markets for as much
as three years. The laboratory,
operated around the clock by
inmates, was established by the
prison authorities, who claim to
have been unaware that their
activities infringed intellectual
property laws. The location of the
laboratory inside the prison initially
kept it hidden from enforcement
intervention. However, the Police
raid has now led to the
administration and its officers being
charged with infringing IP laws, with
the possibility of a prison sentence
or a fine of 500,000 roubles.
P
NIGERIA
Africa flooded with S.E. Asia pressed CDs
frica is a huge potential music
market that presents an
enormous challenge to the
legitimate industry. The majority of
markets are devastated by unbridled
piracy. The best and brightest
musical talents are unable to make
a living from their creative abilities
in a continent reknown for a love of
music and dance.
A
Nigeria is typical of the situation
that prevails in many African
economies. Currently, the markets
are being flooded with poor quality
pirate CDs. Ironically, the majority
of these discs are being imported
into Nigeria from relatively wealthy
countries in South East Asia.
Between August and October 2003,
the South African Customs at the
port of Durban successfully
intercepted six containers carrying a
EB 22 - Mar 04
total 1.5 million pirated music CDs.
These discs originating from South
East Asia, were in transit in Durban
en route to Lagos, Nigeria. The discs
represent the tip of a very
destructive iceberg.
At a meeting in February 2003 at
the Nigerian Customs Headquarters
in Lagos, their Assistant ComptrollerGeneral, Mr Jimmy Olumudi, met
with IFPI African Coordinator
(Richard Rademan) and expressed
his concern over this smuggling
route. His officers have instructions
to pay particular attention to this
trade and will seize any pirate music
entering the port of Lagos. Any
intelligence supplied by either South
African Customs or IFPI will receive
an immediate response.
When told by Richard Rademan of
the quantities of his repertoire found
in the containers, South African
artists, Lucky Dube, commented
“tthis is blatant theft” and “iif this
was legitimate I'd have at least
three jets”.
IFPI are determined to interdict this
criminal trade and to bring the
manufacturing plants responsible to
account.
Richard Rademan
IFPI Enforcement, Africa
South African artist Lucky Lube (right)
with Richard Rademan (RAPEC Africa)
7
Regional news:
S.E.Asia/Pacific
PHILIPPINES
MALAYSIA
MDTCA maintain antipiracy momentum
MDTCA target largest
music pirate syndicate
Optical Media Bill to
tackle piracy is passed
aintaining pressure on
unlicensed manufacturers,
Royal Malaysia Police and the
Ministry of Domestic Trade and
Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) both
identified and raided separate
underground replication facilities in
December 2003 leading to a
number of arrests and illegal
product being seized.
cting on IFPI information,
MDTCA personnel continued to
target Malaysia's largest music
pirate distribution syndicate, raiding
a storage facility containing in
excess of 350,000 audio discs.
n a ceremony attended by government
officials and the media, President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed into law
the new Optical Media Bill in the
Philippines on 10th February.
M
On 1st December 2003, the Royal
Malaysia Police units in Johor Bahru
took overt enforcement action
against a suspected optical disc
factory set-up on an industrial
estate, seizing two moulding lines.
Two Chinese people found on site
were arrested and will be charged
under the Copyright Act, Optical Disc
Act and Penal Code (for
pornographic material recovered at
the scene). In addition to finished
product (pornography, film and
audio), 64 stampers were also
recovered.
Closing out a successful year of
enforcement action, on 30th
December 2003 MDTCA personnel
raided an unlicensed one line DVD
factory in Selangor. Raiding officers,
accompanied by IFPI personnel,
gained forcible entry to the one
storey factory lot and detained two
Chinese technicians found inside. In
addition to over 6,000 DVDs seized
(audio and film), officers recovered
82 stampers. Documentation
indicated that the facility had been
operational for six months. The
technicians were detained pending
further enquiries and the machinery
seized and removed.
A total of eight underground
facilities have been raided by
MDTCA and police in 2003 with 14
lines seized, at a conservative
estimated value of 35 million
Ringgit (approx. US$ 9.2 million).
8
A
In the course of IFPI's ongoing twoyear investigation, IFPI sources
identified and surveilled commercial
premises suspected to be used by
the syndicate as a local distribution
hub for wholesalers and retailers in
the Ampang area of Malaysia. The
ground floor shop unit was raided
under warrant on 20th January by
MDTCA and IFPI investigators. The
unoccupied premises were found to
be lined with metal racks filled with
bundles of discs and the appropriate
inlay inserts.
All the infringing discs bore logos
linked to a single distribution
network. Repertoire was exclusively
Chinese or international artists and
the entire seizure was audio
product. In total, MDTCA seized and
removed 352,970 CDs from the one
room store.
Follow-up enquiries by MDTCA and
IFPI identified the premises' tenant,
who had previously been identified
by IFPI in a raid against the same
group in 2002 and is now wanted by
MDTCA.
Inside the illegal distribution hub
I
The bill was passed by both the House
of Representatives and Senate late last
year and provides for the establishment
of the Optical Media Board which will
regulate the import, export, manufacture
and distribution of all optical disc media.
The OMB will replace the existing
Videogram Regulatory Board whose
remit was confined to the regulation of
film media.
An important step towards better control
of optical disc piracy, the bill should
facilitate a more cohesive approach to
tackling the problems of optical disc
piracy and reflect the needs of all
intellectual property owners reliant on
the optical disc for the publishing of
their products. Significantly perhaps the
signing comes while the Republic faces
allegations of being the seventh largest
exporter of pirated goods to the USA.
The Philippines has been on the USTR
watchlist for the past three years.
The act requires all optical disc plants to
register with the board and makes
mandatory the use of Source
Identification (SID) codes. Additionally,
the new law provides some significant
penalties for those convicted of offences
under the new act. The more serious
manufacturing offences can attract
prison sentences of three to six years
and fines of up to 1.5 million Pesos
(approx. US$ 27,000). Offences of
knowingly replicating intellectual
property without the consent of the
owner, or of refusing inspection of
facilities by the board can attract a term
of imprisonment of one to three years
and a fine of 100,000 to 500,000 Pesos
(US$ 1,800-9,000). The Bill is expected
to be fully specified with the
implementing regulations confirmed
within 90 days of the date signing
ceremony.
EB 22 - Mar 04
Regional news:
S.E.Asia/Pacific
TAIWAN
THAILAND
Promotion for Thai IPR
supporter in re-shuffle
IFPI information leads
to warehouse raid
he Thai Government's annual
cabinet reshuffle was announced
in November 2003 and of particular
interest was the promotion of the
then Deputy Minister of Commerce,
Mr. Wattana Muangsook, to the post
of Minister of Commerce. Mr.
Muangsook has been at the
forefront of the Thai authorities' IPR
efforts over the past year and he will
retain the IPR portfolio and continue
to champion the cause of
intellectual property rights at the
highest level.
conomic Crimes Division officers
raided a major distribution
centre in central Bangkok netting
over 40,000 pirate discs and a
number of stampers.
T
Within the Department of
Intellectual Property (DIP), the
Ministry of Commerce's IPR
watchdog, the former Director
General, Mr. Yanyong Puangraj, has
been promoted to Deputy
Permanent Secretary to the Minister
of Commerce, his post has recently
been taken up by Mr. Kanisorn
Nawanukrau, a former trade
representative to the US.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bangyong
Limprayoonwong has been
promoted to Deputy Director
General of the DIP with
responsibility for copyright and
piracy suppression.
E
IFPI enquiries into the activities of
pirate disc 'couriers' in the notorious
backpacker and tourist area of Khoa
San Road identified a rented room
in a commercial complex being used
as a storage facility and distribution
warehouse supplying local stall
holders. This information was
passed to ECID and following the
granting of a search warrant by
Thailand's dedicated Intellectual
Property & International Trade
Court, a raid was conducted at the
premises on 20th November 2003.
Inside the room some 40,500
international repertoire pirate discs
were discovered and seized, along
with a dozen stampers. Significantly,
a large number of high quality
counterfeit disc were recovered as
well as copies of one pre-release
album by a major artist which was
not due to hit legitimate outlets for
another week. Two people found in
the warehouse at the time of the
raid were detained for questioning
by police.
CDR duplication centre
linked to file sharing
system in Changhua
raid on a company in Changhua
City by Changhua County Police
on 20th November 2003 has
resulted in the seizure of 25
computers, 6 CDR burners and
recorded CDRs containing infringing
music. Five people were also
arrested.
A
The seized CDRs contained more
than 100 MP3 files each.
Examination of the seized products
and equipment by IFPI anti-piracy
personnel revealed that the
infringing music MP3 files were
downloaded by using file sharing
systems on an illegal website. The
burnt CDRs were then offered for
sale on auction sites.
Large scale raids on
CDR laboratories
he Taichung Team of the IPR
Task Force Police raided two
premises in Dounan Township and
Douliou City in Yunlin County on 5th
January. Two people were arrested
and a total of 163 CDR burners and
approximately 6,000 pirate CDRs
were seized. The raids were the
result of a prolonged evidencegathering exercise following
information received from the public
on a location in Yunlin County in
Western Taiwan.
T
On 13th January, a separate raid
was conducted on premises in
Taichung by the IPR Task Force
Police. Thirty-four CDR burners were
recovered and nearly 15,000
infringing music CDRs seized. One
of the three people arrested was a
notorious distributor turned CDR
pirate and he had just been
sentenced to three years and four
months jail term in November 2003
for previous pirate CDR offences.
Taiwan: large scale CDR burning laboratories uncovered in Yunlin County
EB 22 - Mar 04
Reports by Bob Youill
IFPI Enforcement, SE Asia/Pacific
9
News:
Industry
L I T I G AT I O N
(continued from page 1)
IFPI intends to file further civil suits
in the next months against other CD
plants in the Russian Federation
that are responsible for the
production of infringing CDs.
mass produced pirate product.
The piracy problems in Russia are
due to inadequate legislation and
weak enforcement. IFPI has very
recently urged the Duma to pass the
necessary proposed amendments to
The decision to file a civil claim
against a CD plant for the first time
indicates the record industry's
determination to recover
compensation from those supplying
the pirate music market. This marks
Russia is one of the top ten
a new phase in IFPI's
priority markets targeted in
campaign against the
the fight against commercial “Copyright piracy is a critical problem in Russia
and this action opens up a new front in our manufacture of
piracy, with the number of
industry’s efforts to tackle it. Russia has the unauthorised discs in
CD plants more than
Russia. IFPI has already
potential to become a highly successful music
doubling in the last three
filed a number of criminal
years and production
market, but first it is essential to bring its complaints for copyright
capacity nearly tripling, while spiralling levels of piracy and copyright
infringement against
legitimate sales growth is
infringement under control.”
Russian CD plants and has
much smaller than the
Jay Berman, IFPI Chairman & CEO been awaiting action on
growth of pirate sales. The
those complaints by the
activities of these plants has
Russian authorities.
the Copyright Act without further
far-reaching effects; investigations
delay, and called for law
The preliminary hearing took place
by IFPI's international anti-piracy
enforcement to take firm and
on 5th January. The claims are now
investigators, aided by forensic
immediate action against other CD
proceeding through the court and
analysis, have helped trace exports
plants, based on the information
Russobit is defending them.
of Russian pirate CDs to no fewer
that has been provided to them by
than 26 countries, making Russia
Trevor Albery
IFPI.
one of the leading exporters of
Senior Legal Adviser
INTERNET
‘Contemptible’: the pirate trade in charity recordings
n several occasions in recent
years the power of music to
engender empathy and compassion
has been captured in great effect to
relieve suffering: ‘Candle In The
Wind’, ‘War Child’, ‘The Princess
Diana Tribute’ album are a few
examples. However, Sir Bob
Geldof's Live Aid charity concerts of
1985 remain the most momentous
of these projects. The concerts took
place in London and Philadelphia
and featured many stars including
U2, Queen and Madonna to name
but a few. The charity raised money
to help millions afflicted by famine
and starvation whilst the music and
imagery remain ingrained in the
consciousness of a generation .
O
Sadly, counterfeit and pirate
versions of all of these recordings
have been encountered. This is a
10
particularly cynical criminal activity.
Recently, Sir Bob Geldof was very
disappointed to discover illegal
recordings of the Live Aid concerts
being offered for sale on the
Internet; sets comprising ten DVDs
were offered for £110.
Investigations into this piracy
conducted by IFPI and the British
Phonographic Industry (BPI),
concluded at the end of February
when British police arrested a man
at an address in Skelmersdale,
Lancashire. Police seized a
computer, a small quantity of Live
Aid DVDs and recordings of concerts
by Pink Floyd, U2 and other bands.
The arrested man has been bailed
whilst further police enquiries are
conducted.
This case serves to illustrate the
continuing use of the Internet to
trade in copyright infringing discs.
The incident is typical in that the
perpetrator is operating on a
relatively small scale, burning
content onto CDRs in response to
orders. The authorities face
particular difficulties in dealing with
these incidents in that investigations
and raids are resource intensive.
IFPI investigators and their
counterparts in National Groups are
working with the IFPI Internet AntiPiracy Unit (IAPU) to close down
Internet sites that are being used to
proffer copyright infringing goods.
The cited case serves to
demonstrate that the Internet
pirates are not beyond the law and
that anyone engaging in this illegal
trade will be in jeopardy of criminal
prosecution and civil remedy.
Source: BPI
EB 22 - Mar 04
News:
Secretariat
TRAINING ROUND UP
Spain
India and Sri Lanka
FPI Secretariat and AFYVE, the
Spanish National Group held joint
training sessions for the Police in
Seville and the Ertzaintza (Basque
National Police) in Vitoria, Spain in
October. These two sessions were
attended by over 200 police officers
who were given information about
the identification of product and the
scale of piracy both national and
international. Anti-piracy activity by
law enforcement officers in Spain
remains very high and the seminars
were warmly received by those
attending.
A training seminar organised by the
Indian Music Industry (IMI) was held
in Mumbai, India for police and
customs officers from the region.
Also invited were senior officers
from the states of Gujurat, Tamil
Nadu, Kerala and the city of
Chennai. The training on 20th
February was designed to raise
awareness of the piracy problem in
India and to give a worldwide
perspective of the issues faced not
only by the music industry but also
law enforcement officers
investigating counterfeiting
offences. Practical advice was given
about the recognition of music
products. At the conclusion of the
seminar the Deputy Inspector
General of Kerala stated that he
wished to arrange similar training
for all his officers. IMI will be
arranging a series of presentations.
I
Romania
IFPI representatives attended an
anti-piracy seminar in Iasi, Romania
to speak to Romanian customs and
border guards. A separate seminar
was also held for officers at the
Police Academy and dealt with the
involvement of organised crime and
trans-border criminality. Romania is
an important crossroads for
shipments into Europe and as one
of the candidate countries for the EU
is attempting to control the
importation of illegal product into
the region.
Serbia
A seminar/workshop organised by
the Serbian Intellectual Property
Rights Agency for judges,
prosecutors, police officers, custom
officers and inspectors took place in
late 2003. In total 60 members of
the various bodies were in
attendance to hear experts on
patent and trademark law, design
law and geographic indications,
copyright & related rights and
customs implementation. IFPI was
invited to give its perspective on the
investigation of music piracy
offences and the strategy adopted
to fight counterfeiting on a
worldwide scale.
EB 22 - Mar 04
Between 23rd and 25th February
training sessions were held in
Colombo for both police and customs
officers. This seminar had been
organised by the National Intellectual
Property Office of Sri Lanka in liaison
with the Economic Officer and
Commercial Attaché of the Embassy
of the USA and Willem van Adrichem,
IFPI's Regional Anti-Piracy
Coordinator for the Middle East and
South West Asia. On day one, a group
of ten senior police and customs
officers attended. These officers also
expressed interest in carrying out
training for their frontline staff with
particular stress placed on practical
aspects of the training.
On day two 20 Police officers of
various ranks attended the seminar,
jointly presented by IFPI and
Microsoft, and with input of the legal
situation in Sri Lanka from a local
barrister. IFPI's presentation
concentrated on the recognition of
product, the investigation of music
piracy offences and the links to
organised crime. At the end of the
seminar groups of officers were given
typical piracy offences to investigate.
This facilitated discussion and raised
several difficult points required to
prove offences under the new Sri
Lankan copyright act.
Day three saw similar presentations
by the lecturers but this time
targeted towards 24 customs
officers. The day concluded with a
series of practical exercises creating
a simulated investigation.
The three days spent with law
enforcement officers in Sri Lanka
has led to important contacts being
made and a greater understanding
of the problems on the island.
Piracy rates are high with a mixture
of imported CDs, CDRs and
cassettes dominating the market
place. To combat this menace all
law enforcement officers need to coordinate their actions to prevent
imports of pirate material and to
seize the product from the illicit
market on the island. The training
carried out is an important first step
in attacking the problem.
Graham Hagger
Training Officer
WCO seminars
FPI participated in three training seminars sponsored by the World Customs
Organisation in Brazil, Malta and Malaysia. Emilio Garcia of IFPI Latin
America attended the seminar in Rio de Janeiro, Graham Hagger of IFPI
Secretariat attended the training sessions in Malta and David Mattinson of
IFPI South East Asia attended the seminar in Malaysia. These WCO sponsored
seminars involving several industries affected by IPR crimes are an
opportunity for Customs and Industry alike to exchange views and expertise
in different fields.
I
11
News:
In brief
S.E. Asia: South Korea
Diary 2004
More than 7,000 pirate music cassettes and CDs were seized during a series
of raids on market stalls in the areas of Dae-gu, Bu-san, Jin-ju, Dae-jeon,
Jeon-ju and Won-ju between 26th - 29th November 2003. The raids were the
result of a joint investigation by the Recording Industry Association of Korea
(RIAK) and the Game and Record Department.
5-6 May
IICPAG Meeting
(Belfast)
10 May
EB June 2004
Deadline for
submissions
19 May
IFPI Main Board
(London)
Bob Youill
IFPI Enforcement, S.E. Asia/Pacific
Meetings & Events
IFPI Worldwide Anti-Piracy Enforcement Conference
IFPI's worldwide enforcement conference will remain on European shores
when it reconvenes in June 2004 in Dublin, Ireland. This year's three-day
conference will be held on 30th June-2nd July and is to be hosted by IRMA,
the Irish music industry association. The last meeting was held in
Amsterdam in September 2002.
The conference is expected to focus on the increasing involvement of
organised crime groups in the manufacture and distribution of pirate music
products and will examine strategies to tackle this problem. The theme of cooperation and partnership between the music industry and law enforcement
authorities remains high on the programme. The agenda will be enhanced by
several important keynote speakers from international law enforcement
organisations such as Interpol and customs authorities. Attendance is
expected to be high. In addition to IFPI National Group personnel, delegates
will also include representatives from government bodies, music companies
and other associated industries.
A full report on the event will appear in the September 2004 issue of the
bulletin…
IFPI publications
25-26 May WCO//Interpol Global
Congress on
Counterfeiting
(Brussels)
28-29 Jun
IFPI Regional AntiPiracy Enforcement
Meeting (Dublin)
30 Jun-2 Jul IFPI World Anti-Piracy
Enforcement
Conference (Dublin)
Last word...
General anti-piracy enquiries and
requests for information relating to
enforcement issues should be sent to
the following email address:
[email protected]
Information is also available from
IFPI’s website: www.ifpi.org
Enforcement Bulletin: Annual Review Issue 2003
The next EB will be in June 2004.
The annual review edition of IFPI's Enforcement Bulletin, released last
December, comprises a round-up of some of the music industry's key antipiracy achievements throughout 2003 and is now also available in Spanish
and Chinese.
Requests for copies in those languages should be addressed in the first
instance to the editor, contact details below right.
Contributions / comments are welcomed
and these should be forwarded to the
editor no later than 10th May 2004
(see below for details).
Mailing list enquiries should also be
addressed to the editor.
ENFORCEMENT BULLETIN
People news
Departures
Trevor Albery
Tony Tuohy
Nicola Rudolph
Senior Legal Adviser (Secretariat)
Intelligence Analyst (Secretariat)
Secretary/Admin Assistant (Secretariat)
Mar 04
Apr 04
Jan 04
This Bulletin is edited by Isabelle
Betsy, Executive Administrator @
IFPI Secretariat.
Fax:
+44 20 7878 7990
email: [email protected]
12
EB 22 - Mar 04