Hong Kong - The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has announced that a recent three-month anti-piracy crackdown in the Asia-Pacific region netted 461 arrests, 56 camcorders caught in the act of pirating films in theaters, and the seizure of 7.5 million pirated discs.

Nearly 600 raids were conducted across 12 countries, including the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Korea and China, as part of the MPA's "Operation Takedown."

The movie studio trade group also lauded the introduction of new law enforcement initiatives in Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines to deter the camcording of films in theaters.

"Our anti-piracy actions have brought down a significant number of pirates all around the region, whether they be burning DVDs in a lab somewhere or selling via the Internet," said Mike Ellis, president and managing director of Asia-Pacific for the MPA.

"While we are pleased that 56 camcorders were caught red handed, there is still a long way to go to deter camcorders from thinking about breaking the law."

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/3hsra (PDF)