14 arrested for pirated movies

[Tadakatsu Honda]

Apr 24, 2010
14 arrested for pirated movies

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The police also confiscated media players, hard disks pre-loaded with pirate movies and counterfeit mobile phones worth an estimated $160,000 on the streets. -- PHOTOS: POLICE PRESS RELEASE

The police also confiscated media players, hard disks pre-loaded with pirate movies and counterfeit mobile phones worth an estimated $160,000 on the streets. -- PHOTOS: POLICE PRESS RELEASE

A 13-HOUR operation at Sim Lim Square on Friday netted 14 people involved in the distribution of pirated movies and fake mobile phones, police said on Saturday. Aged between 21 and 34 years old, the 10 men and four women, were arrested during simultaneous raids at nine locations in Sim Lim Square. The police also confiscated media players, hard disks pre-loaded with pirate movies and counterfeit mobile phones worth an estimated $160,000 on the streets. The majority of the items came from outside Singapore, the police said, and investigations as to how the goods entred the country are continuing.

'Any copyright or trademark infringer, who profits at the expense of legitimate business and consumers with a blatant disregard for intellectual property rights laws, will have to face legal penalties,' said Assistant Director of the Specialised Crime Division, Criminal Investigation Department, Superintendent of Police Goh Lam Kiong. If found guilty of selling or distributing products that infringe copyright or trademarks, the 14 suspects could be fined up to $10,000 per article, with a maximum of $100,000 for all items, or they could be jailed for up to 5 years, or both.

 

[M.Bison]

So bold, so busted


So bold, so busted
Sim Lim Square sales gimmick sparks police raid - 14 arrested, items worth $160,000 seized

By Ho Lian-Yi and Lester Hio
April 24, 2010

Buy a media player from us and we will fill its hard disk with movies – for free. Sounds like a great deal, but what vendors at Sim Lim Square are offering is actually illegal.

The vendors also offered "refills" at a fraction of the price of a DVD, for customers who bought media players from them.

It's equivalent to selling pirated movies, lawyers told The New Paper.

 

[SwineHunter]

The great IPO race


Apr 25, 2010
The great IPO race

<!-- by line --> By Mavis Toh
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On Sunday, Sim Lim Square, became the staging point for an awareness event by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (Ipos) to mark World Intellectual Property Day on Monday. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

<!-- story content : start --> SIM Lim Square was the site for a police raid last Friday which led to the arrest of 14 people for selling counterfeit mobile phones and pirated movies.
Media players, fake phones and hard disks loaded with pirated movies worth a total of $160,000 were also seized. On Sunday, the building, the go-to-place for cheap computer games, software and gadgets, became the staging point for an awareness event by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (Ipos) to mark World Intellectual Property Day on Monday.

About 200 people set out on a race across the island to work through intellectual property (IP) related challenges. At the Sim Lim Square pit stop, contestants had to distinguish between original and counterfeit softwares. 'Trademarks, patents and piracy - these were things we had no idea about before, but learnt in the race,' said civil servant Daniel Chew, 27, whose team came in second place. Around the world, countries are also hosting seminars, exhibitions, contests and giving out booklets and brochures to discuss issues and raise awareness about intellectual property.

Read the full report in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.