On 8 November, at Sutherland Local Court, the owners of Broadway Video Centre in Hurstville were fined a total of $16,000 and given a three-year good behaviour bond for knowingly pirating and selling DVD movies.
Ching Man Chow, 36, of Hurstville NSW, was fined $10,000 and given a three-year good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to ten charges under the Copyright Act. Her husband, Guang Hua Pan, 44, was fined $6,000 and also faces a three-year good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to copyright offences.
In passing sentence, Magistrate Keogh said: ‘Piracy is a serious issue in Australia and costs the local industry a lot of money.’Adrianne Pecotic, Executive Director of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), said, following the conviction: ‘This sentence sends an important message to other would-be pirates that ripping off intellectual property by burning and selling pirated DVDs is wrong and will be dealt with by the authorities. Pirating films and television shows has a harmful impact on our film industry and threatens over 50,000 jobs.’
On 17 January, 2007, following complaints by members of the public, NSW Police supported by investigators from AFACT, raided Broadway Video Centre and caught Chow in the act of ‘burning’ illegal copies of Hollywood movies. The police seized over 3,000 pirated DVD movies, over 3,000 blank DVD-Rs, two 6-Disc DVD burners and computer equipment.
Amongst the seized titles police discovered pirated copies of the feature film Happy Feet, which was yet to be released in cinemas in Australia. The director of the film, George Miller, launched the ‘What are you really burning?’ anti-piracy campaign in August this year, highlighting the damages piracy causes to the film industry in Australia.
Piracy in Australia
An independent report conducted by L.E.K. Consulting indicates that movie piracy cost the film industry in Australia an estimated $233 million in potential revenue in 2005, with 92 million of that attributed to illegal downloading.
The illegal distribution of unauthorised copies of movies rose from 4% in 2000 to around 10% of the legitimate market in 2004. Police across Australia have more than doubled the number of illegal discs seized in 2004 compared to 2003. Discs comprise mostly DVD-R copies as DVD-R technology has increased its share of the pirate optical disc market. In addition Australian Customs seized over 40,000 pirate DVDs imported into Australia in 2004, a 185% increase compared to the 14,000 seized by Customs in 2003.
Police jurisdictions recognise organised crime involvement in film piracy. Organised crime links to movie piracy in Australia were first uncovered following a raid on Malaysia-linked movie pirates in 2002.
About AFACT
AFACT works closely with industry, government, police and educational institutions to address copyright theft and protect the interests of the film and television industry as well as the interests of Australian movie fans.
AFACT acts on behalf of the 50,000 Australians directly impacted by copyright theft including independent cinemas, video rental stores and film and television producers across the country. AFACT has its own anti-piracy hotline: 1800 251 996.
[release from AFACT]