TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 1984
3
HONG KONG WINS TOP AWARDS FOR ANTI-COUNTERFEITING FIGHT ******
AS A RESULT OF INTENSIVE SEARCH-AND-RAID OPERATIONS OVER THE YEARS, HONG KONG HAS LARGELY ELIMINATED MUSIC AND BOOK PIRACY.
+FOR THIS SUCCESS, HONG KONG HAS EARNED TOP AWARDS FROM MAJOR INTERNATIONAL RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS, SUCH AS THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PRODUCERS OF PHONOGRAMS AND VIDEOGRAMS WHICH REPRESENTS SOME 500 RECORDING COMPANIES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AND THE RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA,+ SAID MR W. Y. SUEN, COMMANDER OF THE COPYRIGHT DIVISION OF THE CUSTOMS INVESTIGATION BUREAU, CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT.
+ALSO, HONG KONG HAS OFTEN BEEN NAMED 'A MOST SUCCESSFUL AREA' IN COMBATING BOOK AND MUSIC PIRACY AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES, AND IS BEING HELD UP AS AN EXAMPLE TO OTHER COUNTRIES,+ MR SUEN ADDED.
LATEST REPORTS FROM THE LOCAL MUSIC INDUSTRY POINT OUT THAT MUSIC RECORDS AND CASSETTE TAPES NOW ON SALE IN THE LOCAL MARKET ARE LEGITIMATE PRODUCTS.
TEN YEARS AGO, THE LOCAL RECORDING INDUSTRY ESTIMATED THERE WAS ONLY ONE LEGITIMATE COPY OUT OF EVERY 50 MUSICAL CASSETTE TAPES SOLD HERE. THE PIRATES' PROFIT MARGIN COULD BE AS HIGH AS 200 PER CENT AS THEY DID NOT PAY ANY PROMOTION COSTS OR ROYALTIES.
REFERRING TO RECENT ALLEGATIONS THAT PIRATED TEXT BOOKS FROM HONG KONG HAD BEEN SEIZED IN NIGERIA, MR SUEN SAID, AFTER INVESTIGATIONS, WE FOUND THAT THE BOOKS HAD TRANSITED THROUGH HONG KONG AND HAD NEVER TOUCHED SHORE HERE. HONG KONG HAS NEVER BEEN AN ENTREPOT FOR SUCH BOOKS.+
RIGHT NOW, THE DIVISION IS FOCUSSING ITS ATTENTION ON A NEW PROBLEM - PIRACY OF CINEMA FILMS AND TELEVISION PROGRAMMES.
WITH THE ADVANCE OF VIDEO TECHNOLOGY, VIDEO TAPES AND TELEVISION PROGRAMMES CAN NOW BE EASILY COPIED AT A LOW COST.
IN LATE 1979, A MARKET SURVEY REVEALED THAT POPULAR FOREIGN MOVIES AND TELEVISION PROGRAMMES WERE BEING SOLD UNDER THE COUNTER.
THE DIVISION HAS BEEN TACKLING THE PROBLEM RIGHT AT THE SOURCE.
SO FAR IT HAS CRACKED DOWN ON 28 MANUFACTURING CENTRES AND SEIZED $2.5 MILLION WORTH OF EQUIPMENT AND PIRATED VIDEO TAPES.
IT IS ALSO MAINTAINING CLOSE CONTACT WITH TWO LARGE FILM UNIONS - THE MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA AND THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PRODUCERS OF PHONOGRAMS AND VIDEOGRAMS.
INTENSIVE INVESTIGATIONS AND TOUGH ACTIONS BEING TAKEN HAVE FORCED THESE NEW PIRATES TO OPERATE ON A SMALLER SCALE AND TAKE GREATER PRECAUTIONS.
/+PIRATED VIDEO
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