Music Piracy

During the second day of the IPR Conference held at the EDSA Shangrila Hotel, I eagerly sat and listened to Ken Leung of IFPI talk about music piracy. Ken is Regional Operations Officer of IFPI Asian Regional Office. He has many years of experience in tackling IP theft and has participated in many raids in the Region.

According to the IFPI website, this organization has 1400 members in 72 countries and represents the recording industry worldwide. IFPI also has affiliated industry associations in 44 countries. It’s mission include, promoting the value of recorded music, safeguarding the rights of record producers
 and expanding the commercial uses of recorded music.

Ken explains to his audience what SIDs or Source Identification Codes found in original music CDs. There are actually two types of these codes, namely: the mould codes and mastering codes. Look at your original music CD. The mould code is found in the inner ring. An example of this code is “ifpiA103.” This code identifies which manufacturing plant replicated the CD. While in the outer ring is the mastering code. Ken explains that this code “tells us that the master of the disc was made by which plant in which country, like where the sampler was made. An example of this code is IFPI LAB12. LAB is the plant code.

“Obliteration of the SID Code suggests piracy,” says Ken.

Ken also described some of the biggest challenges on music piracy. He describes “high quality counterfeits” which have better printing, packaging and contents. He says, “It is almost the same as legitimate ones.”
Another is “cross border piracy” wherein the replicating plant in one country has already closed but there are no records of replicating lines.

He cites the case of 12 containers with replicating machines shipped from Canada and the US to the Philippines. “Last May, together with the Bureau of Customs, these replicating machines were confiscated. The OMB refused to grant a license for import to the Chinese businessman,” adds Ken.

David Blakemore adds, “A lot can be done internationally to trace movement of goods and equipment.” There is a need for more intelligence sharing among law enforcements and government agencies. David has 34 years experience with the New Zealand Customs Service.

There is definitely a need for more partnerships and collaboration between government and private sectors for stronger enforcement of the IP laws. This IP Conference is also a good step towards better public education to increase the respect for intellectual property.

Importance of Intellectual Property

Earlier, after the first day of “WIPO Asia Pacific Conference on Intellectual Property Strategies and National Development,” I sat down with David Blackmore at the Boracay Room of EDSA Shangrila Hotel. The theme of this conference is “Innovation in Motion.” David was in the Philippines last 2007, when he run a training program for IP law enforcement. Based in New Zealand, David is the Executive Director of IPR. Photos by Ruth Roman.

Together with Melvin Calimag of the Manila Bulletin, we talked about some of the issues and concerns related to IP or intellectual property.

“All economies are suffering from counterfeiting and piracy, but the face of the problem is changing. Every conceivable sector is affected and it’s consequences include, among others, consumer safety and business revenue,” says David

We were surprised when David shared that in India alone, there were 40 fake versions of Vicks Vaporub. He describes that fakes not only compete with the originals but among the fake products too. Even YKK zippers is also copied. “It is one of the most faked items,” adds David.

My friend, Melvin asked which product sector ranked high among piracy and counterfeiting. David replied that “music piracy was more prevalent but luxury goods and clothing was most visible.” No arguments here. Just go around tiangges and one can see thousands of fake brands like Louis Vitton, Lacoste and Polo.

It is common knowledge that a lot of fake products come out of China. I asked David about this challenged being faced in the world’s largest economy. Maybe, if there was tighter control within China’s borders, less fake products will reach the tiangges and flea markets around Metro Manila. David says, “Chinese customs makes a lot of seizures.” He explains that the size and scale is too big too handle. That I can imagine. And there must some tech-driven way that can help address this problem. It would be tough to physically check each container van coming out of Chinese ports. “Customs control is important,” adds David. “80% of all seizures are made by custom officials.”

David calls for the need for more involvement among all stakeholders. “We need to expand alliances beyond government and law enforcement agencies.” He also sees the public awareness should start in schools, which could contribute to an increase of respect for intellectual property. Agree that we can find a champion among our midst who will instill in the minds of the youth the importance of respecting intellectual property, specially, related to music and photos.

I asked if there could be a champion for IP issues. I shared that Al Gore was successful in putting climate change high in the priority list among government through the film, An Inconvenient Truth. David opined that the famous football player, Ronaldo, can champion the fight against fake football jerseys.

This event contributes to increased awareness for intellectual property as it exemplifies cooperation between government and the private sector as intellectual property becomes a strategic tool for national development.