bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

The legitimate video industry may have been killed off completely by the piracy that has flourished since the demise of Hong Kong's biggest video chain KPS, Motion Picture Association vice-president Jeffrey Hardee said yesterday.

 'It's a very real possibility - if there's no one to sell or buy legitimate products, what do you do?' said Mr Hardee, from Singapore, who is in Hong Kong on business.

 'The pirates have products within days - you can't compete with that.'  KPS, which went into receivership earlier this month, still has not announced a buyer for the 38-store chain.

 Staff have applied to the courts to have the company wound up.

 Former owner Garrie Roman said liquidation 'may be a real possibility'.

 'I think they were considering that from day one,' said Mr Roman, who had expressed interest in buying out his former company but lacked the funds.

 Sources said Blockbuster Video, a major US rental chain, was interested in taking over KPS.

 However, negotiations were at a standstill as it was unlikely that Blockbuster would want every store, the sources said.

 Mr Hardee said blaming parallel import laws, which forbade retailers from buying their own videos rather than through distributors, had 'nothing to do' with the current state of the industry.

 'It's a smokescreen - pirates have videos within two to three days of US theatrical release,' he said.

 Mr Roman said the market might not recover because the public was becoming accustomed to finding what they wanted through pirate retailers.

 'Legitimate trade may not be a viable business anymore - you have to shut down those retail outlets or a legitimate video industry in Hong Kong will no longer exist.'   The public had to be educated not to buy pirated goods, said Director for Intellectual Property Stephen Selby at yesterday's launch of an alliance of 35 legitimate retailers taking a 'no fakes pledge'.



Outlook 'gloomy' for video stores