MUMBAI: Highlighting the importance of greater market access and industry cooperation in the fight against rampant movie piracy in China, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) President and COO Bob Pisano, while congratulating the Chinese government in its efforts to fight piracy, has called for a pro-legitimate stance by the Chinese authorities.
Said Pisano, "The MPAA congratulates the Chinese government for raising an anti-piracy awareness among the public. However, piracy is still severely hindering the entertainment industry‘s development in China, especially the home video business that is being devastated by a lack of legitimate retail outlets, inadequately slow censorship and rampant piracy.
We urge the government to adopt and promote a pro-legitimate policy that will enable the industry to effectively compete with pirated products which are widely available in the country."
Pisano was speaking after he witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was designed to increase cooperation between the China Film Copyright Association (CFCA) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA).
Foreign entertainment products are under strict government import control when entering China and outdated regulations and administrative barriers restrict foreign companies from investing in the wholesale and retail audio-video business sector.
In its effort to fight piracy and help develop legitimate online businesses, the MPA has actively engaged the Chinese government and industry in its effort to seek sustainable business models that would adopt effective copyright protection technologies and mechanisms.
The situation has been further worsened in recent years by widespread Internet piracy where copyright infringers use legal loopholes to escape punishment.
Said MPA President and Managing Director, Asia-Pacific Mike Ellis, "We have developed a strong cooperative relationship with CFCA and with the CFCA‘s newly
expanded mandate for industry development we are looking forward to increased
cooperation in areas of mutual interest. Fighting piracy and creating a more favourable, pro-legitimate market environment is in the interests of all our members and good for China‘s economy."
