Hanoi Collects US$64,000 from Fines for Copyright Violation

Hanoi Collects US$64,000 from Fines for Copyright Violation

Copyright violation in Hanoi has become more serious with a sharp rise in the number of cases, according to Mr. Phan Dang Long, director of the City's Culture and Information Service.

Since the beginning of 2003, municipal organisations have collected nearly VND1 billion (US$64,000) in fines related to the crime and destroyed 167,000 discs and tapes, nearly 19,000 book titles and 102,280 sheets of publications, Long said.

Mr. Long also revealed some major cases: in May, 2004, a huge amount of illegally imported and copied CDs and VCDs were discovered at a shop in Trang Tien Street, considered one of the largest and most famous retail centres of its kind in the City.

In early August, a harsh fine was handed down to a private company for illegally copying a multitude of publications.

Although great efforts have been made to stamp out copyright violation, the practice seems to be immune from the effects of punishment, an official from the Service noted.

Copyright violation has become so popular not only here in Hanoi but also across the communist nation that it is simply considered standard practice, he added.
(Capital Security)