US film industry group wins piracy case

A U.S. film industry group said it won damages Friday in a lawsuit against Chinese film pirates but said the ruling might mean little amid the huge scale of violations.

A Shanghai court ordered the Shanghai Le Ying AV Products Co. to pay 177,142 yuan ($23,230) to four U.S. film studios for copyright violation, the Motion Picture Association said.

The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate Court's ruling was the film group's third victory in a series of suits against a group of shops in Shanghai accused of selling pirated DVDs.

"We remain concerned, however, that the court's award is `too little, too late' in the context of the vast unauthorized and illegal enterprise in which Shanghai Le Ying and others were and are engaged," said Frank Rittman, the MPA's vice president for Asia-Pacific, in a statement.

Beijing has increased penalties for product piracy and stepped up enforcement amid foreign complaints China is a leading source of illicit copies of music, movies and other goods. But the MPA and other industry groups say piracy is growing faster than enforcement, driven by China's explosive economic growth.

Film piracy is believed to have cost American studios $244 million and Chinese studios $2.4 billion in lost potential box office revenues in China in 2005, according to Michael C. Ellis, MPA's senior vice president for Asia-Pacific.

The same Shanghai shop was ordered to pay 31,392 yuan ($4,116) to three other MPA members in March.

Employees who answered the phone at the court on Friday afternoon said they could not confirm whether such a ruling was issued.

Shanghai Le Ying was part of a group of outlets that operated as the Ka De Club shops, according to the MPA.

MPA member studios also won a judgment against another shop in the group in December.

The MPA is the international arm of the Motion Picture Association of America. MPAA member companies are Walt Disney Co.'s Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Paramount Pictures Corp., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Universal City Studios LLLP and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.