'Spider-Man 3'

Piracy continues to rear its ugly head but in this latest occurrence, at the expense of the public in China.

According to a Reuters report out of Begin recently (April 26), Chinese counterfeiters, determined to cash in on the hype of Spider-Man 3, scheduled for release in the United States (U.S.) on Friday, have taken piracy one step further, releasing faked copies of different movies in Spider-Man sleeves.

Sony Pictures Entertainment said on Tuesday, April 24, DVDs in China reported to be pirated copies of widely anticipated Spider-Man 3 were in fact copies of its predecessor, Spider-Man 2. On Thursday, April 26, street vendors were selling discs marked with Spider-Man 3 packaging, featuring a picture of the hero crouching in a black spider suit and crediting stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst in Chinese.

A copy bought for 10 yuan - a little over US$1 - came with the vendor's caveat that it was 'not good quality'.

Commenting on the Reuters report, Melanie Graham, marketing manager of Palace Amusement, says it's time for buyers to beware, as this is another of many incidents worldwide where the public has been duped with not just a poor quality product but also a fake product. Purchasing pirated material is tantamount to receiving stolen property, she says, so buyers must be aware that they are active participants in a criminal activity where they themselves are now ending up victims.

Anti-piracy campaign

In 2006, Palace Amusement launched an islandwide anti-piracy campaign and is committed to fighting the scourge though on-going education and empowerment of the public. The company also continues to work closely with the Intellectual Property Division in the Organised Crime Investigation Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and is engaged in ongoing discussions with the Government, the Motion Picture Association of America and The Jamaica Anti-Piracy Alliance. The outcome could have serious repercussions for the nation. Jamaica is a signatory to the International Copyright Convention and any country that allows piracy of U.S. intellectual property, runs the risk of being disqualified from receiving benefits under USAID.

In the recent past, Hollywood's major movie studios have filed several rounds of lawsuits against people who trade illegally copied films and TV shows on the Internet. The civil suits sought up to US$150,000 per downloaded digital file. Studios have, for a number of years, been losing billions worldwide in annual revenue from sales of illegally copied movies on video and DVD format.