Cinematic Piracy in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cinematic Piracy in China - Essay Example Reports indicate that there is minimal understanding and respect for intellectual property. This paper will discuss why cinematic piracy has become son rampant in China and present the alarming statistics at which this vice is talking place. Cinematic piracy involves the reproduction of any cinematic intellectual property without paying any returns to the producers. The vice involves both the act of production and buying counterfeit copies (Larkin, 2004). The pirated video compact discs (VCDs) and DVDs enter the distribution channels in China retailing at very low prices. It is surprising that, Hollywood movies appear in counterfeited forms in China streets, before their official launch into theatres. In other cases, the circulation of pirated movies in China begins a few days after the premier entry into theatres. Some cinematic pirates often make use of hand-held videos in theatres during a movie premier to capture the entire movie. These offenders then proceed to make copies in As ia, and in a few days, they gain entry into the market. Other copyright offenders rely on quality screeners in order to produce copies of Hollywood movies. Sometimes the copies come out in a quality that is easily confused with the original. With the increasing use of internet in the globe, it becomes easy to share cinematic intellectual property files in digital form (Pang, 2006). Background statistics of Cinematic Piracy Cinematic piracy is very rampant in china and prevailed for a long time. Traditional piracy involved making copies of movies and retailing them at much cheaper prices in the Chinese market. The Chinese government failed to intervene into the matter that was causing Chinese movie industries immense losses. By 2000, pirated material consisted of 94 % of movies retailing in China. With the emergence of new form of digital piracy, China has registered higher rates of cinematic piracy with an increasing population connected to the internet and sharing files. In 2003, Chinas’ sale of licensed movies accounted to only 17.7 % while the industry was making profits in billions. This gap between the total sales of movies and the total sales of licensed movies and films represents a large percentage of the existing pirated cinematic work. Further statistics indicate that the production capacity is much higher than the sales made presents the gross rate at which China indulges in piracy of intellectual property. In 2005, the profits from copyright piracy were in USD 200 billion USD. It is worth noting that in 2008, the piracy rate registered a 10% drop. However, despite the drop, China remains at the top of the vice of piracy globally (Liang, 2011). According to Pang (2004), the prevalence of piracy in China in alarming rates has negative implications on the Chinese copyright laws. It is worth noting that China restricts the entry of film work from foreign publishers. As a result, the Chinese law did not protect any intellectual property that gained entry into China without its knowledge. That clause in the Chinese copyright law contributed to the high rates of pirated cinematic works in China for a very long time. However, the world trade organization (WTO) pushed China to amend its copyright laws. WTO made claims that the mentioned clause allowed China to engage in copyright offenses without any action. Pirated material was circulating freely in China but the copyr ight owners could do nothing about it