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.