Since China is hosting the Olympics this year they are staying on everyone’s good side (well as much as they can be except for all of the political side of things) including Hollywood’s. They have taken extra steps to control the over whelming piracy problem of bootleg movies and CD’s.
“Chinese copyright officials in 31 provinces this week destroyed more than 47 million pornographic and illegal publications, including pirated DVDs.
China is home to some of the world’s worst offenders on intellectual property rights evasion, prompting the U.S. to formally complain to the World Trade Organization that the country is not doing enough to stop counterfeiting.”
Well….they brought on Jackie Chan to help fight the good fight. His new billboard hangs in Beijing’s Silk Market. The billboard reads, “Protect the movies, say NO to piracy.” It will be displayed for two weeks and its message is said to at least reach 20million people.
“Chan’s message to Beijing’s citizens is direct and simple,” said Mike Ellis, MPA’s regional prexy and managing director. By eschewing pirated fare, Chinese will take steps toward “nurturing and protecting China’s movie industry, which then will be free to reach out and tell compelling, exciting Chinese stories to people around the world.”
My family lives in Shanghai and I know by first hand experience how bad the bootlegging is. It’s everywhere and it doesn’t just hit the DVD’s and CD’s, it hits fashion and iconic imagery – and it’s easily duplicated. I think it’s great for someone who’s such a huge celebrity in China to stand up and fight.
