XN000022-1984-03-14 — Page 17

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1984

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MUSICAL WORKS PIRACY ALMOST WIPED OUT'

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PIRACY OF MUSICAL WORKS HAS BEEN ALMOST WIPED OUT IN HONG KONG, THE HEAD OF THE CUSTOMS INVESTIGATION BUREAU, MR K.S. TONG TOLD THE LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF KOWLOON WEST TODAY.

THIS WAS SHOWN BY A FINDING OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PRODUCERS OF PHONOGRAMS AND VIDEOGRAMS (IFPI) THAT ABOUT 98 PER CENT OF THE RECORDS AND TAPES ON SALE ARE LEGITIMATE PRODUCTS, HE EXPLAINED.

+HONG KONG HAS ALWAYS BEEN SINGLED OUT AS A PLACE WITH REMARKABLE SUCCESSES IN THE FIELD OF COPYRIGHT PROTECTION, + MR TONG SAID.

+IN JANUARY 1980, THE IFPI AND THE RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (RIAA) EACH PRESENTED AN HONORARY GOLD DISC TO THE COPYRIGHT DIVISION OF THE CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT IN RECOGNITION OF ITS OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS.

AND A NUMBER OF COMPANIES AND ORGANISATIONS, INCLUDING OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, COLLIER MACMILLAN INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHER, SONY CORPORATION OF JAPAN, THE MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (MPAA) HAD ALSO EXPRESSED THEIR APPRECIATION TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR ITS SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS AGAINST PIRACY TO PROTECT THEIR INTERESTS, HE SAID.

OUTLINING THE DEPARTMENT'S WORK IN COMBATING MUSIC PIRACY SINCE 1973, WHEN IT TOOK OVER THE COPYRIGHT PROTECTION RESPONSIBILITIES FROM THE HONG KONG POLICE, MR TONG SAID THAT BETWEEN 1974 AND 1977, THE DEPARTMENT HAD SMASHED 41 PIRATED TAPE MANUFACTURING CENTRES AND SEIZED LARGE QUANTITIES OF LABELS AND RECORDING EQUIPMENT WORTH SOME $3.5 MILLION, MORE THAN 300 PERSONS HAD BEEN CONVICTED AS A RESULT OF PROSECUTIONS,

+HOWEVER, INVESTIGATIONS IN 1977 FOUND THAT HONG KONG HAD ABOUT 150 HAWKERS AND RETAILERS SELLING PIRATED TAPES, INDICATING THAT THE SITUATION WAS STILL SERIOUS. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE DIVISION STRENGTHENED ITS ESTABLISHMENT FROM SEVEN TO 41 OFFICERS IN 1978, IN READINESS TO LAUNCH A TERRITORY WIDE OPERATION CODENAMED THE 'SHILLING BAZAAR”.

+THE 'SHILLING BAZAAR WAS AIMED AT LOCATING AND ARRESTING HAWKERS AND RETAILERS ENGAGED IN THIS TRADE. WE BELIEVED THIS OPERATION WOULD IN TURN SMASH THE ACTIVITIES OF THE ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS, HE ADDED.

TO REINFORCE THE OPERATIONS, A PUBLICITY DRIVE WAS LAUNCHED IN MARCH 1978 TO ISSUE WARNINGS TO TRADERS THROUGH THE MASS MEDIA, TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATIONS AND TRADE UNIONS TO MAKE IT CLEAR TO THEM THAT SELLING PIRATED TAPES WAS AN OFFENCE. MIDDLE OF THAT YEAR INFRINGING COPIES HAD VANISHED ALMOST COMPLETELY FROM THE MARKET, MARKING A DECISIVE VICTORY IN THE BATTLE AGAINST MUSIC PIRACY.

BY THE

/DUE TO