MUMBAI: The Motion Picture Association (MPA) today announced that one of its member companies, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc, has successfully concluded its litigation against ODVD Manufacturer Sdn Bhd (ODVD), an optical disc manufacturer, in a case involving pirated copies of the film Stuart Little 2.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that ODVD had infringed copyright by making illegal copies of the film without authorization and directed ODVD to pay aggravated damages. The Court also awarded Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc’s costs to be taxed and general damages to be assessed.

The action was initiated following a 4 September , 2002, raid by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) on the ODVD factory in Batu Caves, Selangor, which resulted in a seizure of discs bearing pirated copies of the studio’s film.

"We always believed that our rights would be upheld and this is a small but important victory in our ongoing fight against copyright infringement worldwide" said MPA Asia Pacific president and managing director Mike Ellis. "We will continue our pursuit against optical disc replicators in this region who seek to infringe the rights of our members."