U.S. trade official shocks Philippine center selling pirated products
U.S. trade official shocks Philippine center selling pirated products
Associated Press, Manila
A U.S. trade official visiting a suburban shopping mall selling pirated software, music and movies on Saturday expressed shock at the Philippine government's weakness in cracking down on copyright violators.
William Lash III, U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for market access and compliance, toured the Virra Mall in suburban San Juan, known as a haven for computer products, cellular phones and dirt-cheap pirated CDs and DVD movies. He said he wanted to show how easy it is to find pirated products.
He showed journalists copies of five DVD movies he bought for less than 100 pesos (less than US$2) each, including the latest James Bond film, "Die Another Day," and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." A day earlier, he showed reporters a copy of the "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," which just started showing in Manila theaters Saturday.
"I didn't have to ask anybody. They came to us," Lash said. "We were even more shocked. This is the most open violation we have ever seen."
"If we could do this, why can't the Philippine authorities make the seizures, make the arrests, get these products off the market?" he asked.
Lash, on an official visit to the country, said Friday the Philippines will likely remain on the priority U.S. watchlist of countries where there are rampant violations of intellectual property rights.
He said Philippine authorities made numerous raids and arrests of video, audio and software pirates last year, but none of the 280 cases filed in court has resulted in a conviction.
"We are disappointed over this," he said.
Lash said U.S. companies lost around $116 million to violations of intellectual property rights in the Philippines last year, while the Philippine government lost some $25 million in taxes.
For instance, a Windows XP bootleg CD sells for 100 pesos, a fraction of the 7,000 pesos for a genuine copy.
Lash left Manila shortly after the mall stop to continue a three-nation Asian swing that will also take him to Malaysia and Thailand. He was also in Manila last year to review the country's enforcement of intellectual property rights regulations.
Washington moved the Philippines to its priority watchlist in 2001, despite the country's passage of an intellectual property rights protection law.
The Philippines has been identified as a major center of film and music piracy by the Washington, D.C.-based International Intellectual Property Alliance.
Government officials were not immediately available for comment.