Mumbai: The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) and its anti-piracy arm, the Coalition Against Piracy (CAP), congratulate the Hong Kong Customs for their successful enforcement operation against 10 retail shops in Sham Shui Po and Yuen Long that were selling Illicit Streaming Devices (ISDs) that allowed users to watch illegally streamed content.

Acting on information received from Television Broadcasts Ltd (TVB), Hong Kong Customs, supported by TVB throughout the action, raided the shops, seizing more than 1,000 ISDs and related computers and video equipment, with a value in excess of $150,000. In addition to the seizures, three shop owners and three salespersons were arrested. Investigations are ongoing and there may well be further arrests.

The actions were the first in Hong Kong to apply the “communication right” in enforcement actions against ISD sellers since the implementation of the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2022. Potential penalties for this enforcement include imprisonment of up to four years and fines of USD6,400 for each infringed work.

TVB’s Sr IP enforcement advisor Michael Kwan stated, “TVB works closely with Hong Kong Customs in these enforcement actions, which demonstrate the unwavering commitment of both the Hong Kong  Customs and TVB to protecting intellectual property rights and ensuring a fair and sustainable creative industry. We applaud the collaborative efforts in sending a strong message against the sale and  distribution of ISDs."

“CAP’s data shows that Hong Kong has the highest per capita rates of illegal streaming of pirate content in the countries CAP monitors in Asia-Pacific, and consumer usage of ISDs to access pirate content is second only to social media1. Recent studies also show the real risks to consumers from accessing content via pirate sources,” said CAP general manager Matt Cheetham. “It is therefore vital that Hong  Kong’s enforcement authorities send a strong message that the sale and distribution of ISDs is illegal in  Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Customs are to be congratulated for these actions that act to protect both  its creative economy and its consumers.”