Big Hollywood shoots itself in the foot with film piracy findings

WHEN IT COMES to threats and fulminations, few people put on a more furious performance than American politicians protesting copyright piracy in Asia.

Behind them, with chequebook in hand for their election campaigns, stands Big Hollywood, more formally known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the principal loser from film piracy.

But how much does it lose from this form of piracy and to whom? Past attempts by the MPAA to come up with figures concentrated only on bootleg piracy, in other words street sales of illegally produced DVD copies and these were assessed only on the basis of illegal DVD seizures. Internet piracy was not assessed.

Clearly, a more complete picture was required and thus in 2004, the MPAA commissioned a big study to produce an inclusive figure for last year of all forms of film piracy. That study was conducted over 18 months in 22 countries and the results have now been published.

The table shows you one excerpt. It lists the losses suffered by MPAA member companies last year in these countries (grouped largely by region for the purposes of the table) and I suspect the figures were not quite what the MPAA thought they would be. Big Hollywood may have to refocus things.

It is not underworld gangs in China but European teenagers and college students who exact the biggest toll on MPAA member revenues. The estimated losses in Europe last year were more than US$3 billion, US$787 million of this in Britain alone. Next on the culprit list comes the United States itself with more than US$2.5 billion lost to pirates within its own borders.