AHOY, MATEY - BOOK PIRATES STILL IN TAIWAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002005 SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO AIT/W STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC and EB/TPP/IPE STATE ALSO PASS USTR FOR BOLLYKY/ALTBACH US DOC FOR ITA KOREAN/TAIWAN AFFAIRS BRENDA CARTER-NIXON AND MIKE CHOI SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD USTR TW SUBJECT: AHOY, MATEY - BOOK PIRATES STILL IN TAIWAN REF: TAIPEI 0001710 TAIPEI 00002005 001.2 OF 002 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) By nearly all accounts textbook piracy is less rampant and less visible in Taiwan than it was in the 1990s, but it continues to be a problem. A recent survey found that over 50 of Taiwan's college students buy pirated books, but law enforcement officials, faculty and students say the scale of piracy has decreased and blatant violations less common. Book publishers, however, point to declining sales and claim piracy has merely moved underground. Will the Ministry of Education's IP Action Plan make a difference? End Summary. The Good Old Days are Gone -------------- ¶2. (U) The 1990's were golden days for pirated books on Taiwan's university campuses. Pirated editions of textbooks and supplementary materials were openly available on and around campus. Copy shops often kept copied books on hand and provided entire classes with pirated books. Some professors even supported copying by providing original material for students to copy. These days are gone, but still most Taiwan students are buying at least some pirated versions of books and supplementary materials. ¶3. (U) Dr. Po-Chung Chuang, an assistant professor of mass coQunications at Chinese Culture University, conducted a survey on textbook piracy this past school year. Of the 800 college freshmen and sophomores from northern Taiwan in the sample, more than half (50.6 percent) admitted to buying pirated textbooks. Dr. Chuang's survey found that the vast majority of students who buy pirated books do so because they believe books are too expensive. A number of university students around Taipei confirmed to econoff that this was the case. They wanted to save money, they said, and some pointed out that Taiwan does not have a system where students can purchase used books for their classes. A Moral Question -------------- ¶4. (U) According to Professor Chuang's survey, almost all students know that copying texts is illegal, but continue to believe pirating copyrighted materials is not morally wrong. It is not only students who share that sentiment. At the August 8th meeting of the Ministry of Education (MOE) campus IPR working group, one faculty representative accused the MOE of infringing on academic freedom by targeting IPR violations at Taiwan universities. When MOE's draft Intellectual Property Action Plan was announced to the public a number of professors from prominent universities also harshly criticized the MOE's plan in a media frenzy. reftel Although the final plan has not been released, MOE has hinted that it will substantially weaken the plan in the face of this strong public reaction. Piracy Level Dropping... -------------- ¶5. (U) Informal conversations with students reveal a particular pattern of piracy. All of the students who spoke with econoff had at some point purchased pirated material. They noted however, that today the vast majority of students purchase legitimate copies of the course primary textbook, but are much more likely to buy pirated versions of solution manuals, workbooks, and books that are hard to find in campus bookstores. Dr. Chuang agreed, telling econoff students usually buy legitimate editions of books they value and expect to use in the future. Interestingly, Chuang believes that because many professors are now using Chinese-language textbooks instead of more expensive English-language textbooks, students are better able to afford the books. ...And the Intellectual Property Police Want Some Credit -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Taiwan IP Police Squadron Leader Stephen Su said increased police enforcement and raids have greatly reduced the amount of physical copying on and around campuses. In his opinion, on-campus shops violate IPR laws much less frequently now. He admits there are still off-campus copy shops with underground operations, but he thinks this in itself means there has been a decrease in activity. ¶7. (U) Raids conducted across Taiwan in March of 2007, for example, found little printed material in off-campus copy shops, but did discover some electronic source files for books. Squadron Leader Su said copy shops no longer keep pirated material in stock, only TAIPEI 00002005 002.2 OF 002 printing it when ordered. The IP Police have seen an increase in the number of electronic book files available for illegal download, and believe that shops are now printing selections and course-packs for students from electronic source files. ...but Publishers' Sales Still Falling -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Golden Hong, Taiwan Book Publishers' Association (TBPA) Chairperson and Pearson Education's Vice President for North Asia, told AIT that member publishers continue to see declining textbook sales in all categories, and believe this is largely due to continued piracy. He is satisfied with the efforts of the Intellectual Property Police and said that increased enforcement, has forced shops underground, making it only appear that the situation has improved. He believes shops now establish orders through representatives on campus and standing student relationships, then deliver books directly to customers. TBPA's evidence for this, however, is only anecdotal. Hong said that when shops operate under this model, pirated books are only exposed to detection for a short period of time, leaving little chance for police or rights-holders to pursue the copiers. TBPA declined econoff's request to be shown one of these shops, suggesting instead that we ask students or police to point out these difficult-to-find shops. What needs to happen, he says, is for professors to ban pirated books from their classrooms, rather than increased enforcement. ¶9. (SBU) IP Police Squadron Leader Su admitted that there are limits to what the IP Police can do to crack down on book piracy. Due to the limits in their search powers, they can only raid shops after a complaint from the rightsholder. He added, however, that if the TBPA believes underground shops are a major problem, book publishers need to be more active in helping the IP Police locate the shops, like the music and film industries have been in locating DVD factories. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Although the golden days for book pirates may have passed, students are still purchasing pirated books in large numbers. An effective IP action plan from the Ministry of Education and participation from rightsholders will be key in addressing the problem. Unless the MOE is prepared to create incentives for universities to take action expect very little change. End Comment. Wang