Pirated DVDs Sold in Peru Will Pollute the Country for a Long Time

Pirated DVDs Sold in Peru Will Pollute the Country for a Long Time
Levi Novey


One of the great things about living in a developing country like Peru is that you can buy DVDs of new movies for a very low price. For instance, if you want a DVD of The Dark Knight, the new Batman movie, you can already buy it here. Not too shabby, eh?

Of course, you cannot be a stickler for quality with such DVDs, or you will be sorely disappointed. But if you like laughing along with audiences, wearing a hearing aid while watching movies, or pride yourself in your non-humble ability to tell people to sit down and shut up in the theater, then I’ve got a Kungfu Panda DVD that will be perfect for you.

It will probably come as no surprise to you that these kinds of DVDs are made by pirating businesses who use digital cameras to record new movies in theaters. They then distribute them quickly to the masses for profit. Peru, as well as many other developing countries where pirated DVDs are sold will unquestionably suffer over time from the pollution these DVDs will cause. To better understand why the environmental effect of DVDs will be proportionally greater in Peru than in a country like the United States, read on.

In Peru, it’s virtually impossible to rent a DVD. Why?

It’s the economy, stupid!

As there is a high level of poverty in Peru, the only way vendors of movies can make some cash is by selling DVDs that are cheap. The current rate in Peru is about 3 nuevos soles per a DVD. The exchange rate is currently 2.8 soles/$1 US. You do the math.

It almost becomes ridiculous to think how much Americans will pay to own new DVDs. I myself don’t care to own DVDs, as I generally don’t plan to watch movies more than once, with a few exceptions. So I would almost always prefer to rent movies than buy them. In Peru I have little choice though, because renting movies is virtually impossible given the low cost of pirated DVDs.

There are only a handful of stores where you can rent movies in Peru, and there is also not a DVD rental company that uses mail like Netflix. Believe or not, after coming to Peru I have begun to understand that stores that rent movies in the U.S. and other countries actually play a big role in environmental protection Say it ain’t so!

Think about it for a moment. How often do DVD rental stores lease out a single DVD copy to customers? Probably each disc is viewed anywhere from 50-100 times. In essence this means that there is at least some reuse going on. None of this kind of reuse happens in a country like Peru– and this is a terrible thing. Why?

Materials that are used to make DVDs and CDs are incredibly challenging to recycle and are quite bad for the environment.

DVDs and CDs are made from a stew of metals like aluminum and nickel, along with plastics, dyes, and other substances. For this reason, they are incredibly challenging to recycle. After being tossed in the garbage, they can pollute water sources as their components break down and leach gradually into the earth. Needless to say, any kind of pollution generally affects animals, plants, and people badly. The Daily Green recently published an excellent article summarizing the negative environmental effects caused by CDs and DVDs. The article also discusses some potential alternatives that might help alleviate the problem in the future, such as growth in digital downloads of movies.

http://ecoworldly.com/2008/07/28/pirated-dvds-sold-in-peru-will-pollute-the-country-for-a-long-time/

Re: "Quiapo's Illegal DVD Trade Is Dying"

Here's a reply on "Quiapo's Illegal DVD Trade Is Dying" posted at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/quiapo_dvd/

Re: "Quiapo's Illegal DVD Trade Is Dying"

Post Reference: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/quiapo_dvd/message/23695

Hi Guys,

I think it's more like the Quiapo DVD market is changing. The buyer profile is now more C and D whereas before you had B and even A market crowds.

What has changed? The main factor is internet downloads. PLDT and Globe reports a 60% increase in their broadband market in 2007 and this market is expected to grow at least 35% per annum up to 2010. People that used to buy a few pDVDs a week (the bulk of the AB market) are now downloading them instead of going to Quiapo or, say, Greenhills. Additionally, the availability of original DVDs at P150 to P199 also contributed to the decline of pDVD sales. Finally, there is a reactionary market effect wherein sellers are pushing more inferior pDVD stocks because the market demanding clear quality copies have diminished greatly.

In other words the opportunity cost of acquiring pDVDs have gone up since the marginal cost of substitutes have gone down.

Will the pDVD market die out? Not yet! The C & D markets are still around. Buying and watching pDVDs are still cheaper than going to the movies for them. However, since they have lower purchasing power, the market has effectively shrunk and the good old days are long gone for our friends from Marawi.

What can we expect? Market consolidation and perhaps natural monopolies arising from the retail side of the business. Additionally, pDVD quality will likely continue to deteriorate.

Yes, I am idle today.

Quiapo's Illegal DVD Trade is Dying

Quiapo's Illegal DVD Trade is Dying

Angelo Gutierrez
abs-cbnNEWS.com

Despite the brazen display of fake movies in Quiapo district, anti-piracy agencies of the government believe the illegal DVD trade in the notorious district of Manila is steadily declining.

“Ngayon pa lang we already know. We can see in the inventories that the amount of discs is getting fewer,” Eduardo Manzano, Optical Media Board (OMB) chairman, told abs-cbnNEWS.com.

Last May 2, or a week after the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its Special 301 Report, which specifically mentioned Quiapo's notoriety for selling counterfeit and pirated merchandize, abs-cbnNEWS.com visited this bustling area of Manila.

The intersection of inner streets of Bautista and Hidalgo, across from Quiapo Church, is where dozens of retail stores of pirated movies and music, in the form of DVD and VCD, are concentrated.

At least a dozen stalls are lined up on the streets, and hundreds more stalls are cramped in at least three two-story buildings on Bautista and Hidalgo streets.

At the end of Bautista street, or a few meters away from the fake DVD, VCD stores that are mostly selling pornographic movies, is a police community precinct.

Told of the scene in Quiapo, Manzano said the pirated DVDs being sold in Quiapo today are mostly old titles or have low audio and visual quality.

This, he said, is because of the government's success in blocking the resources of the illegal traders by conducting hundreds of raids in 2007.

Based on OMB records, a total of 2,526 operations in 2007 resulted in the confiscation of 4.8 million units of fake optical discs and the filing of 22 criminal complaints with the public prosecutor.

Manzano said that while fake optical discs is not the Philippine National Police's (PNP) responsibility, it can arrest fake DVD traders for selling pornographic materials.

The OMB chief cited corruption as one of the reasons for some erring policemen's inaction against pornographic materials in the country.

"There will always be corruption. With illegal money, there will always be corruption. So that's one of the problem," Manzano said.

Manzano, however, clarified that the PNP has been an active partner of the OMB, in fighting optical media piracy in the country. He said policemen usually tag along during OMB raids.

Aside from Quiapo, the USTR mentioned Greenhills in San Juan City; Metrowalk Mall in Mandaluyong City, Makati Cinema Square in Makati City, and Binondo district in Manila as the havens of counterfeit products.

Technology killing pirated CD business

The Philippines maintained its spot, along with 35 developed and developing countries, on the ordinary watchlist of the USTR.

The status quo standing is being treated by the Intellectual Property (IP) Philippines as "another benchmark" for the country's campaign against all forms of product piracy.

IPP is the lead coordinating agency of the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR), where OMB and the PNP are members. It was created in 2005.

"Another benchmark to measure the progress of the Philippines' anti-piracy campaign is its status on the Special 301 Report. For three consecutive years now, the country has been on the ordinary watch list. The country was removed from the Priority Watch List in 2006," IPP Director General Adrian Cristobal Jr. said.

Cristobal agrees with Manzano that optical media piracy is nearing its end in the Philippines. Cristobal said a concerted effort of concerned agencies and the Filipino consumers "can really solve the piracy problem."

Manzano's opinion, however, was a little more creative.

"Eventually with the computer, there will be less need for physical products (DVD, VCD) on the streets because again, all you have to do is access the Internet," he said.

However, Manzano said the rapidly developing technology has also weakened the Optical Media Act of 2003, which he said needs to be amended to become "proactive" to be able to "run parallel with the technology development."

He said the OMB and the IPP are pushing for the amendments to the law to "plug holes that the syndicates are trying to create."

"We have a technical working group putting together amendments. We have asked the House and the Senate. When the optical media law was being created, we did not foresee how technology will develop. The law became obsolete with the technology development," Manzano said.

Internet downloading

Manzano said movie and music downloading through the Internet is the "new frontier" of piracy. He said with Internet downloading, "everybody has the capacity and the potential to become a pirate."

An Internet pirate only needs a computer, a fast broadband connection and a DVD burner. With the absence of a law, home-based Internet piracy is allowed "if you don't intend to gain from it financially by virtue of retail."

Manzano said Internet downloading can also phase out the trade of fake DVDs in the country. He said that based on the fora hosted by OMB, movie lovers prefer to download clearer copies from the Internet instead of going to the congested Quiapo district.

"In the future, that will be the National Telecommunication's problem," he said, explaining that a product of Internet downloading becomes the OMB's responsibility only after it is burned to a DVD.

In 2007, 1.2 billion movies were downloaded for free in the United States through the Internet, Manzano said. Internet users also download free games, e-books, and music, he added.

Cristobal said the Philippines doesn't have the capability or infrastructure to control piracy on the net, because of the absence of a law against Internet piracy.

He said the IPP is now pushing for the amendments of certain provisions of the Intellectual Property Code, "which would make our laws more responsive to the current needs of the Filipinos."

Among the bills, he said, is the Internet Treaties that was ratified by Senate in 2002.

"The important provisions of the Internet Treaties, particularly on digital rights management, are now in the process of being incorporated into the Copyright Law, which will result in the criminalization of copyright infringement on the Internet," he said.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=117753

USTR 2008 Special 301 Report

United States Trade Representative (USTR) cites Quiapo's notoriety for selling counterfeit and pirated merchandise in page 8 of its 2008 Special 301 Report. The report doesn't mention anything specific on illegal optical media trade in the Philippines in relation to the Quiapo DVD market.

Read the whole report here:

http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2008/2008_Special_301_Report/asset_upload_file553_14869.pdf

Page 7, Notorius Markets...

Notorious Markets

Global piracy and counterfeiting continue to thrive, due in part to large marketplaces that deal in infringing goods. This year’s Special 301 Report notes the following virtual and physical markets as examples of marketplaces that have been the subject of enforcement action, or may merit further investigation for possible IPR infringements, or both. The list represents a selective summary of information reviewed during the Special 301 process; it is not a finding of violations of law. The United States encourages the responsible authorities to step up efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting in these and similar markets.

Virtual Markets

Allofmp3 (Russia). Industry reports that allofmp3 was formerly the world’s largest serverbased pirate music website. Although the site’s commercial operations appear to have been disabled in 2007 and a criminal prosecution is pending, other Russian-based websites are reportedly continuing operations with similar infringing content.

Baidu (China). Industry has identified Baidu as the largest China-based “MP3 search engine” offering deep links to copyright-protected music files for unauthorized downloads or streaming. Baidu is the target of ongoing infringement actions.

Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) websites (China). A large number of these Chinese websites, such as Alibaba and Taobao, have been cited by industry as offering infringing products to consumers and businesses. The Internet traders who use these online markets to offer counterfeit goods are difficult to investigate, and contribute to the growth of global counterfeiting.

PirateBay (Sweden). Industry reports that PirateBay is one of the world’s largest BitTorrent tracker sites and a major global conduit for the unauthorized exchange of copyright-protected film and music files. PirateBay was raided by Swedish police in 2006, and the government initiated the prosecution of four Swedes associated with the site in January 2008, but the site has continued to operate, reportedly relying on servers located outside of Sweden.

Physical Markets

Silk Street Market (Beijing, China). Industry has cited Beijing’s Silk Street Market as “perhaps the single biggest symbol of China’s IP enforcement problems.” In 2005, authorities began to pressure the landlords of Silk Street Market and other major retail and wholesale markets in Beijing to improve compliance with IPR laws. In 2006, right holders prevailed in several court actions related to the market, and executed a Memorandum of Understanding with the landlords in June 2006. A January 2007 industry survey of the market reportedly showed that counterfeiting has worsened, with apparent violations in 65 percent of all outlets. More recent industry reports indicate that counterfeiting at Silk Street Market remains at critical levels.

China Small Commodities Market (Yiwu, China). The China Small Commodities Market in Yiwu reportedly sells approximately 410,000 different items, mostly small consumer goods. Industry has cited the market as a center for wholesaling of infringing goods. Officials in Yiwu have met repeatedly with U.S. Government officials and stressed their work to improve IPR enforcement. Industry confirms that enforcement in Yiwu has improved. Continued improvement is needed, particularly in the area of criminal enforcement.

Gorbushka, Rubin Trade Center, and Tsaritsino Markets (Moscow, Russia). Industry representatives report that piracy problems persist in these markets, though the situation has improved at the Gorbushka and Rubin Trade Center.

Tri-Border Region (Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil). The Tri-Border Region of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil has a longstanding reputation as a hotbed of piracy and counterfeiting of many products. The U.S. Government is funding a training project through which U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials will train prosecutors, police, and customs officials from the Tri-Border Region to combat intellectual property crime. Although Ciudad del Este remains the hub for pirate activities in Paraguay, industry reports that trade there has declined and that commercial concentrations are shifting to other cities. Through a revised Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Paraguay on IPR enforcement, the United States will be encouraging Paraguay to increase enforcement action with respect to a number of specifically-identified markets in that country.

Tepito, Plaza Meave, Eje Central, Lomas Verdes, and Pericoapa Bazaar (Mexico City); Simitrio-La Cuchilla (Puebla, Mexico); San Juan de Dios (Guadalajara, Mexico); and Pulgas Mitras and La Ranita (Monterrey). An estimated 50,000 vendors sell IPR products in Mexico’s ubiquitous, unregulated street markets. Past police raids on such markets have sometimes been met with violent resistance, requiring large contingents of security personnel.

Czech Border Markets (Czech Republic). Hundreds of open air market stalls are notorious for selling pirated and counterfeit products near the Czech border, including at the notorious Asia Dragon Bazaar in Cheb City. Many of these markets are highly organized, and even advertise on the Internet.

La Salada (Buenos Aires, Argentina). This is the largest of more than 40 large, wellestablished markets in Buenos Aires that have been cited as being heavily involved in the sale of 9 counterfeit goods. An estimated 6,000 vendors sell to 20,000 customers daily. The market is reputed to be a haven for organized criminal gangs that operate from within it, resulting in little to no IPR enforcement.

Neighborhood of Quiapo (Manila, Philippines). Street stalls in this neighborhood are notorious for selling counterfeit and pirated merchandise. Other notorious markets in Manila include Binondo, Greenhills, Makati Cinema Square, and Metrowalk.

Harco Glodok (Jakarta, Indonesia). This is reported to be one of the largest markets for counterfeit and pirated goods in Indonesia, particularly well-known for pirated optical discs. Enforcement officials are reportedly reluctant to conduct regular enforcement actions because of the presence of organized criminal gangs.

Panthip Plaza, Mah Boon Krong (MBK) Center, Klong Thom, Patpong, and Sukhumvit Road (Bangkok, Thailand). These locations are notorious for openly selling pirated and counterfeit goods. They are all designated as “red zones” by Thai authorities, which indicates that they are places where infringing products are most readily available.

Page 43, Watch List 2008...

PHILIPPINES

The Philippines will remain on the Watch List in 2008. The United States is concerned about U.S. industry reports of an apparent increase in piracy in the Philippines, particularly in the areas of book piracy, illegal downloads using mobile devices, piracy on the Internet, and the illegal camcording of films in theaters. The United States urges the Philippines to take steps to reverse these trends and strengthen its enforcement regime against piracy and counterfeiting. Specifically, the Philippines should pursue final determinations in outstanding IPR cases, including those related to cable piracy, with imposition and implementation of deterrent-level penalties. The Philippines also should strengthen the Optical Media Board and provide it with adequate resources to expand and improve the effectiveness of its activities; strengthen the Customs IP unit; ensure that its patent regime complies with the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; enforce copyright protection of printed material; and seek to obtain amendments to the Copyright Act to implement the WIPO Internet treaties. The United States will continue to work with the Philippine Government under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement to strengthen the Philippines IPR regime.

Republic Act 9239: Optical Media Act of 2003

Full Text of RA 9239 at http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno9239.html

IV. PENAL PROVISIONS

Section 19. Offenses and Penalties. -

(a) Imprisonment of at least three (3) years but not more than six (6) years, and a fine of not less than Five Hundred thousand pesos (Php 500,000.00) but not exceeding One Million five hundred thousand pesos (Php 1,500,000.00), at the discretion of the Court, shall be imposed on any person, natural or juridical, who shall:

(1) Engage in the importation, exportation, acquisition, sale or distribution of, or possess or operate manufacturing equipment, parts and accessories without the necessary licenses from the OMB;

(2) Engage in the mastering, manufacture, replication, importation or exportation of optical media without the necessary license from the OMB;

(3) By himself, or through another, cause the mastering, manufacture or replication of any intellectual property in optical media intended for commercial profit or pecuniary gain without authority or consent of the owner thereof;

(4) Engage in the Mastering, manufacture, or replication of optical media without affixing or installing in the resulting products the SID Code, and/or such other codes prescribed, assigned and authorized by the OMB. The absence of the codes prescribed, assigned and authorized by the OMB in any optical media shall be prima facie evidence that said optical media are in violation of this Act;

(5) Engage in the mastering, manufacture, or replication of optical media using, affixing or installing in the resulting products false SID or other codes. The presence of false or unauthorized codes shall be prima facie evidence that said optical media are in violation of this act;

(6) Engage in the mastering, manufacture, or replication of optical media using, affixing or installing in the resulting products false SID or other codes that have been assigned by the OMB to another person, or, having been assigned and authorized said codes by the OMB, allow or authorize another person, establishment or entity to use, affix or install such codes in the latter's products;

(b) Imprisonment of at least one year but not more than three years and a fine not less than one hundred thousand pesos, but not exceeding five hundred thousand pesos, at the discretion of the court, for the following offenses:

(1) Engaging in the importation, exportation, sale or distribution of, or possess or acquire in commercial quantities manufacturing materials used or intended for use in the mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media without the necessary licenses from the OMB;

(2) Knowingly performing or rendering the service of mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media, after having been licensed by the OMB, to any person, in respect of any intellectual property, who does not have the consent by the owner of the intellectual property or his representatives or assigns;

For this purpose, any person, establishment or entity that is licensed by the OMB to engage in the above mentioned activities shall be considered to have acted in good faith in respect of any transaction entered into by him in respect to the preceding paragraph, if he notifies the OMB of such transaction within five working days from receipt of the order, furnishing to the OMB all material information thereof;

(3) Refusing to submit to inspection by the OMB, or surrender for preventive custody any optical media, equipment, manufacturing materials, including parts, accessories and paraphernalia found during inspection operations to be in violation of the provisions of this Act;

For purposes of this subsection, violators who will employ armed resistance against agents of the OMB shall be penalized under other applicable laws in addition to those provide in this Act:

(a) Imprisonment of at least 30 days but not more than 90 days or a fine of not less than 25,000.00 pesos but not exceeding fifty thousand pesos at the discretion of the court:

(1) Knowingly possess items of the same content or title, produced in violation of this Act, and used for the purpose with the intent to profit;

(2) Engaging in the sale, rental, distribution, importation, exportation of, or any other commercial activity involving optical media that are in violation of this Act.

(b) For subsequent offenses in Section 19(a), uniform imprisonment of six (6) years but not more than nine (9) years and a fine of not less than One Million five hundred thousand pesos (Php 1,500,000.00) but not exceeding Three million pesos (Php 3,000,000.00) at the discretion of the Court, shall be imposed.

(c) For subsequent offenses in Section 19(b), uniform imprisonment of three (3) years but not more than six (6) years and a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos (Php 500,000.00) but not exceeding One million five hundred pesos (PHp 1,500,000.00) at the discretion of the Court, shall be imposed.

The offenses listed under this section shall be punished without prejudice to the application of appropriate penalties or sanctions provided under Section 216 and such other appropriate sections of the IP Code or Republic Act No. 8792 also known as the Electronic Commerce Act, the Revised Penal Code or other applicable laws.

Section 20. Determination of Penalties - In determining the number of years of imprisonment, or amount of fine to be imposed, the court shall consider the size of the operations of the offender, the value of the articles involved in the violation, and the period of violation. In imposing administrative penalties, the OMB shall likewise consider the said circumstances.

Section 21. Persons Liable. - If the offender is an alien, the person shall immediately be deported after serving his sentence, and shall, thereafter, be refused entry into the country.

If the offender is a government official or employee, he shall suffer perpetual disqualification from public office and forfeiture of his right to vote and participate in any public election for ten (10) years.

Should the offense be committed by the juridical person, the stockholder, chairperson, president, officer, director, trustee, partner or manager responsible for such violation shall be liable.

Section 22. Enforcement - The OMB may solicit the direct assistance of other agencies, the managing authorities in the economic zones and instrumentalities of the national and local governments, and may deputize for a limited period the heads or personnel of agencies to perform enforcement functions for the OMB, insofar as such functions are concerned shall be subject to the direction and supervision of the OMB.

Section 23. Disposal of Seized Materials. - Any optical media, equipment or materials found to be in violation of the provisions of this Act, any books, records, or paraphernalia providing evidence of any violation committed by any person, establishment or entity, shall be confiscated and forfeited in the favor of the government and shall be disposed in accordance with pertinent laws and regulations: Provided, That confiscated optical media may, pending consideration of the case, be immediately destroyed upon final determination by the OMB in an administrative case, or by a court in a civil or criminal case, that are the same are in violations of this Act: Provided, further, That a sufficient representative sample shall be retained for evidentiary purposes.

The retained representative sample shall remain in custodia legis until the final resolution of proceedings thereon.

Equipment and materials imported of this Act shall be subject to seizure and immediate disposal by the Bureau of Customs.

Sikat na Actor Parokyano ng Pirated DVDs

Sikat na actor parokyano ng pirated DVDs
Nitz Miralles

Nakita ng isang reporter ang isang sikat na actor na bumibili ng pirated DVDs na inilalako sa Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Disappointed ang reporter sa actor dahil 'pag guest sa TV tuwing may pelikulang ipalalabas, laging nagpapaalala sa viewers na 'wag bumili ng pirated, pero hayun siya at sa maraming tao pa bumibili ng ipinagbabawal.

Kahit sabihin pang foreign movies ang pirated copies na binili ng actor, hindi pa rin magandang tingnan na makita siyang nagpa-patronize noon.

Sana pumasok siya sa kanyang sasakyan o kaya'y sa naglipanang coffee shops at du'n namili at bumili.

* * *

PAGKATAPOS ng Zaido at bago ang Marimar ang time slot ng Kamandag at panghuli ang La Vendetta.

Kahit sinasabing sure hit ito, ninenerbyos pa rin si Richard Gutierrez dahil hindi alam kung magugustuhan ng tao ang bago niyang serye.

Basta, pinaghihirapan nilang lahat na mapaganda ang serye at mapapanood na nakikipaglaro sa mga ahas si Richard.

Mabuti't 'di siya takot sa ahas dahil may mga eksenang 10 ahas ang kasama niya at ang dalawa'y gumagapang sa loob ng kanyang T-shirt.

First time makatrabaho ni Richard sina Jewel Mische at Maxene Magalona, how is it working with them?

"Kaya love ko ang trabaho kong ito't I get to work with different talents. How I wish walang network war para mas marami pang new talents akong makasama. Okey sina Jewel at Maxene, masaya silang katrabaho. "

Tinanong pala namin si Direk Mark Reyes kung ang Kamandag ang bagong Encantadia?

"I'd like to think so, since same energy at nagkaiba lang sa challenge. We're working with the Encantadia team at kung hindi sa kanila, hindi namin ito magagawa ni Topel (Lee, the other director). Ibinabalita ko palang may DVD na ang Enca, 'di pa lang nare-release. "

Source: People's Tonight

Sa Kabilang Dako ng Simbahan

Sa Kabilang Dako ng Simbahan



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MThj5jiac6I

Pinal na Proyekto sa asignatura ng Panitikang Filipino 17, sa panuto ni G. Mykel Andrada, AY 2006-2007, ika-2 Sem.

... sobrang babaw ng analysis sa DVD trade sa Quiapo! Bwiset!