MUMBAI: The New Zealand Federation Against Copyright Theft (NZFACT) executive director Tony Eaton, representing the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in New Zealand, joined New Zealand’s Associate Commerce Minister Judith Tizard and other creative industry representatives at a prize-giving ceremony celebrating the creativity and hard work of young New Zealanders.
Competition winner, Yang Gan, a student at Hutt International Boys’ School, Wellington, designed a logo and poster with a message encouraging people to respect copyright laws. There has been some commercial interest in Yang’s work and it is also likely that T-shirts designed from another competition entry will be put into production.
"Yang Gan and two of his fellow students demonstrated with their creations the flair and creativity that drives our intellectual property regime," said Minister Tizard. "I am delighted to be part of this event that helps to raise the awareness of intellectual property, especially among our youth who continue to amaze us with their fearlessness when it comes to creations of the mind."
"Enforcement will always have a role in protecting movies from piracy but education, articularly among young people, is our highest priority," said Eaton. "We believe that as awareness of the economic damage caused by movie piracy increases, more people will turn away from piracy and watch and buy legitimate movies. Young people are the key: today’s students are tomorrow’s creators and developers of intellectual property."
"We congratulate the Ministries of Education and Economic Development of New Zealand on this excellent initiative and the success of this competition," said MPA president and managing director, Asia-Pacific Mike Ellis. "As we focus on reaching out to young people across this region, educational programs and school competitions such as this are of primary importance. We look forward to continuing our support on the education front in New Zealand."
The student competition will be run again in 2008 with the theme of respecting creativity. Students can choose between developing design work, a short film, soundtrack or article for an intellectual property rights campaign aimed at their peers in the under-18 age group.
