[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: NY Times article: Memo to the Dept. of Magical Copyright Enforcement

[Lee Kaiwen]

stacygalore blessed us with this gem On 11/08/2007 12:12:

> ITA. It is like my fake Prada bag. Nobody is expected to believe 
 > that a real Prada bag is being sold on the streets of Chinatown.

Well, since I don't know "Prada" from "Pravda", I'll take your word on that.

In Asia it's easy to find knock-offs of all calibers, from the $1 DVDs 
on the streets to high end electronics. I've seen JVC and Sony 
knock-offs in Hong Kong that you couldn't (and aren't supposed to) tell 
from the real thing; then again, I've seen $US10 knocck-offs in night 
markets that people buy BECAUSE they're fake.

> Yes, I agree. I went to Manila two years ago just as the big 
 > crackdown on pirate dvd sales was happening, yet there were still
 > guys on the street offering them.

Without meaning to be cynical, WHICH "big crackdown" was that? If the 
Phllipines is anything like China, every year or so the governent will 
make a big show, capture and destroy a few million DVDs, then it's back 
to business as usual. The problem is, knock-offs and pirated DVDs are a 
big part of the economic equation -- there are entire towns in China 
whose sole product is pirated DVDs. Put the pirates out of business, and 
you destroy the local economy.

Of course, it doesn't help when a genuine copy of Windows Vista sells 
for the equivalent of three months' wages in Beijing. I don't know what 
your income is, but what American would pay 6 to 8 thousand dollars for 
Vista when you can pick it up on the street for a buck?

Lee Kaiwen, Taiwan