Hong Kong Film Piracy on YouTube Amounts to $308 Million Loss

Copyright-infringing videos of over 200 films found on world’s largest video-sharing website

HONG KONG (April 23, 2012) – Severe copyright infringement of Hong Kong films is rife on YouTube, with pirated footage of over 200 Hong Kong films found on the world’s largest video-sharing website, amounting to an estimated loss of over HK$2.4 billion ($308 million) to the local film industry, according to the Hong Kong Motion Pictures Industry Association (MPIA). MPIA members urged YouTube and other video-sharing websites to enforce the German court ruling last Friday (April 20) to implement measures to restrict content that infringe copyright.

The recent local box office hit Love in the Buff was found to be uploaded in its entirety, directly affecting the theatrical gross of the film, a situation that the association called “extremely severe” in a statement.

The videos were taken down after a formal complaint made to YouTube by Media Asia, the copyright holder of Love in the Buff.

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