Film Piracy: Austrian Distributors Detail Enforcement

UNCLAS VIENNA 001018 SENSITIVE, SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINT ETRD KIPR AU SUBJECT: Film Piracy: Austrian Distributors Detail Enforcement Problems, German-Language Piracy Platform "KINO.TO" REF: Prague 113 Sensitive but unclassified: Protect accordingly. 1.(U) SUMMARY: Austrian film producers and distributors, in cooperation with the music industry, founded an anti piracy association (VAP) to fight illegal distribution of DVDs and CDs via pirated disks and Internet downloads. VAP estimates yearly film piracy losses in Austria of $4.5 million. The biggest problems are -- pirated disks produced in the Czech Republic and distributed by small traders (mainly Chinese and Vietnamese) in Vienna, and -- downloads from the Internet platform KINO.TO where most international films with German translations are stored (NOTE: "Kino" is German for "cinema"). A VAP lawyer told us Austria's anti-piracy laws are strong in principle, but implementation challenges and legal snafus undermine enforcement. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Embassy representatives recently met with industry representatives including VAP (Verein fr Anti-Piraterie der Film- und Videobranche = Organization for Anti-Piracy in the Film and Video Industries) General Secretary Werner Mueller, VAP legal adviser Andreas Manak, and Walt Disney local managing director Ferdinand Morawetz. In June 2009, VAP drew local attention by publicly destroying 30,000 pirated copies of movies in Vienna worth nearly $300,000. VAP blame Chinese and Vietnamese "Mafioso" networks who distribute the disks, which are mainly sourced in the Czech Republic. ¶3. (U) Although film profits in Austria have grown in recent years, losses remain significant particularly from Internet piracy, say interlocutors. In Austria and elsewhere in the German speaking world, the "streaming video" website KINO.TO is the biggest problem as the origin downloads of films and television series with German dubbing. Apparently the KINO.TO server is located in Russia; the internet service provider (ISP) is unknown, and VAP assumes that the site's "masterminds" are in Germany. Since the domain registration authority for Tonga refuses to provide data about the domain name holders, film right holders have no leverage against the site. ¶4. (U) Morawetz argued the governments should press ISPs to be more cooperative in cases of alleged copyright infringement and to carry out aggressive campaigns against illegal downloads. It was regrettable that illegal downloads are still viewed as a "peccadillo" rather than a true crime. Morawetz portrayed the verdict against the "Pirate Bay" activists in Sweden as a model and praised new French anti-piracy legislation. Morawetz noted though that Internet platforms can sometimes promote sales (if consumers like downloaded content, they often buy the DVD or go to a cinema. ¶5. (U) With regard to pirated disks, VAP representatives said that the laboratories for optical disks sold in Austria are mostly located in the Czech Republic and operated there by Vietnamese immigrants. The police often carry out raids at the Czech-Austrian border and in illegal warehouses in Vienna (even using sniffer dogs) but they are only able to catch "smalltime sellers" -- mostly Chinese. Those caught tend to have strong "clan ties" and never cooperate with police to send their bosses (who ultimately profit) to jail. Our interlocutors are aware that the Czech Republic is on the U.S. Special 301 Watch List and say that nothing has improved there in recent years. VAP representatives expressed frustration that Austrian authorities can do little to stop the inflow, since the Czech Republic belongs to the Schengen area and EU single market. ¶6. (U) The enforcement of Austrian copyright law is in line with "satisfactory" EU directives in this field, but has problems in practice according to Manak. Manak praised the Austrian system of "private prosecution" in copyright cases (criminal proceedings can be initiated by individuals or private organizations),he sees three serious problems in pursuing police investigations where prosecution is privately initiated: -- the police cannot investigate against unknown perpetrators (only named persons/organizations); -- it is practically impossible to execute search warrants in private cases, since defendants must be notified in advance (unlike in investigations initiated by prosecutors/police); -- in most private cases, police are not entitled to seize pirated copies in private houses, nor to clarify identities. In some private IPR enforcement cases, police have been accused of breaching the rights of defendants. Manak opined that these problems could be addressed by introducing slight changes to the Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure -- or perhaps even through a different interpretation of current laws by the Ministry of the Interior. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: Austria's anti-film-piracy representatives express appreciation that the USG is listening to the industry's concerns. VAP head Mueller recommended considering Austria for listing under Special 301 as leverage to convince the GoA to more actively engage against piracy. While we will be watching the developments, we do see NOT/NOT see sufficient reason to list Austria in terms of audiovisual piracy losses (NOTE: the International Intellectual Property Alliance has not issued a recommendation to list Austria - END NOTE.) We will press for stronger local enforcement and prosecution, but Austria remains a relatively small "recipient" market whereas physical disks are sourced primarily in the Czech Republic (DVDs, CDs) and websites are operated from Russia and elsewhere ("KINO.TO" streaming portal). END COMMENT. HOH