TFC Japan all-out in its anti-piracy campaign

MANILA, Philippines - As most countries move towards stricter anti-piracy laws, Japan made headlines when the bill revising its copyright law to add criminal penalties for downloading copyright material or backing up content from a DVD was passed by the na- tion’s legislature and took effect October of last year.

The new law has quickly led to sev- eral arrests, the latest of which involved a police sergeant in Fukushima prefecture last week after he was caught using a digital camera to record an animé movie while it was playing in a theater. It was found out that he had recorded the movie in three separate locations, each in a differ- ent theater. He claimed it was for personal use, but the new copyright law also pro- hibits the use of hidden recording devices in theaters and adds severe fines, includ- ing prison time, to illegally downloading content from the Internet.

This is the new landscape that pro- vides hope and confidence to legitimate content owners and distributors like ABS- CBN TFC (The Filipino Channel) Japan. Just recently, TFC Japan held a community lun- cheonwithlocalFilipinocommunityleaders, media and business partners. TFC Japan managing director Enrique Olives led his teaminwelcomingthecommunitymovers and shakers and the speakers led by ABS- CBN president, CEO and CCO Charo Santos- Concio, with ABS-CBN Global COO Raffy Lopez and CMO Jojo Ines.

During the luncheon, also graced by Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez and wife Teresa, Olives narrated the story of TFC and its 180-degree ef- fort to serve the Filipinos worldwide. This includes accompanying the journey of the Filipinos in Japan by connecting them to the homeland through original Filipino news and entertainment content made available on various platforms like satellite, Video On Demand and most recently, top-notch online video and audio streaming via TFC.tv, Star Studio Celebrity Magazine on print, community events like Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Bayaning Pilipino Awards, major live concerts with TFC tal- ents, support for Filipino talents based

in Japan and assistance in emergency or calamity relief efforts in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy.

“We have an office here that provides em- ployment as it serves the community it is in. We are grateful that the new anti-piracy laws in Japan recognize the ‘sensur- round’ value of the busi- ness that we bring and the empowering impact of the content that we deliver to our target audience,” says Olives.

“There are naysayers who said that piracy is

an unwinnable war,” narrates Lopez.         “But we believed that piracy should be treated like a disease that needs to be eliminated. You always start effective disease preven- tion through mass information. People need to know what the disease is and what it does. And you need partners who share the same faith in the cause. We found one in OMB chairman Ronnie Ricketts.”

TFC ventured into a global education and awareness campaign, in cooperation with the Philippine Optical Media Board (OMB) led by Ricketts. He had in his resume — among others — the ultimate raid of Manila’s notorious Quiapo dis- trict. Shocking many, he ended its years of reign as the country’s No. 1 piracy hub. Healsoendedpiracyoffilmsbeing shown in the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), leading to increased box-officerevenuesforthefestival. Rick- etts joined the cast of the phenomenal TFC teleserye, Walang Hanggan, for the first-ever global anti-piracy public service an- nouncement campaign called, Bawal Ku- mopya — literally, Copying is Prohibited.

The Bawal Kumopya campaign has completed its roll-out in regions where TFC has offices: US, Canada, Mid- dle East, Europe, Australia, Asia-Pacific and Japan.

“We are most thankful that the Filipino community here in Japan — its leaders, media members and business movers — all came here to show their support for ABS- CBN TFC and OMB’s global anti-piracy campaign,” said Santos-Concio. “We ap- preciate that they recognize and value the efforts that so many people in this industry put into producing and delivering quality Filipino news and entertainment content all over the world. With them, we shall con- tinue to be vigilant in this crusade.”