Claims of copyright piracy are greatly exaggerated

The name Bit Torrent is rarely heard in the hallowed halls of our Legislative Council. In fact, the peer-to-peer file-sharing tool is so rare outside geeky circles, it's a wonder that the name should be mentioned by anyone in shouting distance of Statue Square.

The software came up in an exchange between technology legislator Sin Chung-kai and Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang Chun-wah.

Mr Sin has heard the growing torrent of whines from the copyright industry, who blame his industry for their troubles. Mr Tsang's reply was predictably woolly, promising to consult various people and watch what other countries do.

The question was answered on the same day customs officers raided a local piracy ring, apprehending eight people and property worth $20 million.

By a further coincidence, the Business Software Alliance released their latest piracy figures on the same day, naming China as the world's worst pirate, with a 92 per cent piracy rate. If you choose to believe the BSA's statistics, global piracy cost software makers US$30 billion last year. Hong Kong trailed with a 52 per cent piracy rate and reported losses of $102 million.

The next day, the Motion Picture Association of America announced its own piracy study of eight countries, concluding that one in four internet users had downloaded a movie, while two thirds of the remainder planned to start soon. The world leader was Korea, where 58 per cent of users download movies. The association has not released any global piracy numbers but, with rates like that, the figures would have to be in the billions.