Mumbai: Three members of a criminal syndicate selling pirated movies were convicted of breaching Hong Kong’s copyright law and were each sentenced to 15 months imprisonment. The judgment maintains Hong Kong’s reputation as a tough place for movie pirates to do business.  
 
The three pirates were arrested in November 2006 after Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department’s Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau raided a retail shop selling pirated movies and a storehouse stockpiling pirated optical discs. Staff from the International Federation Against Copyright Theft – Greater China (IFACT-GC) representing the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the CJ Mark Committee (CJ Mark) in Hong Kong provided investigative and litigation support and key testimony during the trial.
 
A total of 64,311 pirated DVDs were seized including movie, animation and TV series film titles belonging to MPA member companies and members of CJ Mark (a Japanese rights owners association).
 
"Here’s proof, yet again, that movie pirates will steal valuable intellectual property from rightsholders of every country, and that Hong Kong is fortunate to have such an effective enforcement agency as the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department," said IFACT-GC executive director and general manager Sam Ho.