Focus
City cleans up pirated discs
By Qin Zhongwei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-29 07:56
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Urban administration officers in Xicheng district confiscate more than 100,000 copies of pirated DVDs on April 26, World Intellectual Property Day. [Wang Wei / For China Daily] |
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More than one million copies of pirated DVDs and CDs are destroyed in Beijing on April 22. [Cheng Ning / For China Daily] |
Campaign will not only target street peddlers but also shops throughout the city, Qin Zhongwei reports.
Duan Kun did not realize until last Sunday that the once familiar cries of peddlers selling pirated DVDs outside his university had been missing for quite a while.
The 26-year-old, who graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University a year ago, said there were two to three peddlers who always occupied an area outside the university, selling DVDs of Hollywood blockbusters or hit television series.
"They were so popular that even foreign students bought from them," he said.
"I have no idea where they are now, but when I passed by that place after Spring Festival, they were not there," he added.
What used to be a common sight - peddlers on streets and in underpasses selling bootleg CDs and DVDs - is getting rare, thanks to the Beijing government's latest drive to rid the city of pirated discs.
The move is part of the city's attempt to create an environment more fitting to the forthcoming Shanghai Expo.
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Last month, the Beijing Working Group to Eliminate Pornography and Illegal Publications said its anti-piracy campaign will last until October through four phases.
And the campaign will not only target street vendors, but also DVD shops throughout the city.
On April 22, the government burned 1 million confiscated pirated CDs, DVDs and other illegal publications, the Beijing Evening News reported. Last month more than 3 million pirated audio or video products were confiscated throughout the country.
However, a similar scene took place two years ago during Beijing Olympics when many pirated DVD sellers were forced out of business, but many returned soon after.
He Lin, a street peddler who has sold pirated DVDs in Zhongguancun for nearly 10 years, said he chose to quit business after the Spring Festival.
But this was not because of government pressure. He said it is much more difficult to make money now, especially from the young whom he considers his main customers.
"Young guys are turning to the Internet for free download movies and some of my regulars customers haven't contacted me for months," he said.
Repeated crackdowns may be effective in the short term, but in the long run, regular inspections or tough penalties won't always work, a city administration officer from the Shijingshan district, who would only give his surname as Wu, said.
"The peddlers might hide when we raid the streets, but it does not mean they will not show up again," he said.
"When you go to Zhongguancun, there are still middle-aged women who will approach you, whispering if you need some pirated discs."
Law practitioners say there is still a long way to go in resolving the problem.
"First, it is rather easy to produce or get pirate discs," Lu Liangbiao, a lawyer with Dacheng law firm, said the Mirror Evening News.
"Second, the market is still there due to the low prices of the pirated products.
"Third, people can also buy pirated DVDs through vendors online."
A law professor, Xiong Ying, said China, like many developed countries, has laws and regulations protecting intellectual property.
"But the point is how to carry them out effectively."
