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RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8707

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000271 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USTR FOR CHINA OFFICE - AWINTER, TWINELAND; IPR OFFICE - 
KALVIREZ; AND OCG - TPOSNER 
DOC FOR ITA/MAC: ESZYMANSKI 
LOC/ COPYRIGHT OFFICE - STEPP 
USPTO FOR INT'L AFFAIRS - LBOLAND 
NSC FOR JLOI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ETRD KPAO SCUL CH
SUBJECT: MPA ON EXPO, FILM INDUSTRY, IPR AND COOPERATION IN CHINA 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  ConGen officers met with Motion Picture 
Association of American (MPAA) Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman and 
Asia-based Motion Picture Association (MPA) officials on to 
discuss film piracy, copyright enforcement and other IPR issues. 
 MPAA/MPA hopes that the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, expected to 
attract 60 million domestic visitors and ten million foreign 
visitors, will drive Shanghai IPR enforcement authorities to 
crack down on distribution and retail of pirated DVDs.  Internet 
piracy is the greatest IPR challenge in China, the MPAA/MPA 
delegation said.  The MPAA/MPA group praised the China Mission's 
Movie Nights programs to introduce more U.S. films to student 
audiences throughout China.  End summary. 
 
Expo: An Opportunity 
-------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) DPO, P/E Chief, Econoff and Cultural Affairs Officer 
met with the MPAA/MPA delegation on Sunday, June 14 to discuss 
IPR protection and enforcement issues in the Shanghai Consular 
District.  Michael C. Ellis, the President and Managing Director 
for the Asia Pacific Region for the Motion Picture Association 
(MPA), highlighted the "excellent opportunity" that the Shanghai 
2010 World Expo might provide to combat street piracy issues in 
Shanghai.  Comparing the Shanghai Expo to the Beijing Olympics, 
Ellis stated that despite the availability of pirated DVDs 
available on Shanghai streets and in Shanghai retail outlets 
seemingly having increased over the past few years, the 2010 
Expo might be a chance to closely cooperate with local 
authorities to address this issue.  DPO addressed Ellis' 
concerns that piracy issues were rising and suggested that there 
was less of a local interest in putting people out of business 
or closing (even illegitimate) businesses due to the economic 
downturn in an effort to maintain social stability and keep 
money flowing.  ConOffs also described the close and productive 
working relationship the Consulate has with IPR officials and 
judicial authorities in Shanghai. 
 
Shanghai Film Festival now one of the "top in the world" 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
¶3. (SBU) In town for the opening and first several days of the 
Shanghai International Film Festival, MPAA Chairman and CEO Dan 
Glickman explained how the Shanghai Festival is now one of the 
top seven film festivals in the world and that the Festival has 
been successful building a name for itself.  While lamenting 
that only 20 foreign films are allowed into Mainland China each 
year for general theatrical release, Glickman expressed his 
delight that the Film Festival allowed other films to be 
publically screened in Shanghai, noting that The Reader was one 
such film that had not been selected for general release but was 
being screened at the festival.  The Film Festival, now in its 
twelfth year, draws worldwide attention with international movie 
stars and judges and a record number of entries from around the 
globe this year. 
 
Trends in China 
--------------- 
¶4. (SBU) MPAA's Glickman also commented on the number of his 
organization's member companies that are working to gain better 
entry to the China market.  These activities include increased 
cooperation with the Hong Kong film industry and co-productions 
such as the Universal production of the third installment of The 
Mummy movie series.  MPA Chief Representative in China William 
Feng, noting that since the start of 2008 an average 1.3 new 
theater screens had been added in China per day rpt day, said 
MPAA/MPA member companies hope that the growing number of 
private Chinese cinemas will put increasing pressure on the 
Chinese Government to allow in more foreign films.  Ellis also 
discussed the potential to make additional money from DVD 
releases as/if the China Film Board changes it policies on 
windows to allow DVD releases closer to theater release dates 
and piracy issues are addressed.  The usual delay between 
allowed screenings in China and subsequent permission to sell 
legitimate DVDs cedes the market for DVDs to pirates.  One of 
China's highest earning movies in 2008 was "Red Cliff," which 
earned RMB 600 million  --  of which only RMB 5 million came 
from DVD sales, despite China flooding the market with real DVDs 
 
SHANGHAI 00000271  002 OF 002 
 
 
simultaneously with theatrical screenings.  The pirated DVD 
industry is well entrenched.  Until Chinese policies have a 
pro-business tilt, legitimate screenings and legitimate DVD 
sales will suffer, as will the cinema industry.  Comparing India 
to China, MPAA CEO Glickman stressed the importance of market 
access and that the Chinese restrictions have caused almost all 
the studios to shift most of their focus to India to take 
advantage of the world's largest movie-going population and the 
more open market there.  Piracy is a major problem in India, but 
at least movies can be entered into the market for commercial 
screenings there.  Fully one-half of the world's annual four 
billion movie theater admissions are in India, Glickman noted. 
Glickman also commented that the Chinese movie market pales in 
comparison to the rapidly growing markets in Eastern Europe and 
Russia especially. 
 
Enforcement and Internet Piracy 
------------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) Turning to enforcement and piracy issues, the MPAA/MPA 
delegation stated that internet piracy is the largest issue 
worldwide  --  including in China - despite some inroads made 
with geo-filters and other internet limitations.  Glickman 
commented that the U.S. Government view on tackling internet 
piracy is becoming more diverse under the Obama Administration 
due to the younger administration members who might have 
different policies on internet policing.  Ellis specifically 
stated that he found Embassy Beijing's annual Ambassador's IPR 
roundtable to be an asset and good forum to discuss such issues 
and added that the MPA was also active in training programs 
(under the radar) in China.  He cited a recent MPA-organized 
program in Hefei, Anhui that brought together mixed 
jurisdictions to study these issues, including customs agents 
from Hong Kong and Macau and Taiwan and Chinese officials. 
Econoff shared Consulate successes in working with the Shanghai 
authorities on internet cases, training programs and on other 
copyright issues in Shanghai and Nanjing.  He also told the MPA 
group of successful efforts by the Shanghai Public Security 
Bureau to act on "credible suspicion" rather than proof that a 
threshold had been transgressed and of recent successful 
cooperation with the Quality Brands Protection Committee, the 
trade association of multinationals in China formed to combat 
trademark infringement, to highlight jurisdictions that are 
making strides in protecting IPR. 
 
Motion Picture License Yields High Impact in East China 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
¶6. (SBU) Consulate Cultural Affairs Officer also used the 
briefing with Chairman Glickman to highlight the successful use 
of the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC) agreement in 
East China to use American feature films to reach Chinese 
audiences to highlight American history, culture and values. 
The Public Affairs Section of the Shanghai Consulate has used 
this MPLC license to show American films such as "Men of Honor" 
and "Erin Brockovich" to university audiences from Shanghai to 
Nanjing and Hangzhou to Xuzhou.  The Public Affairs Section 
works with a local university to hold the film night and an 
officer from the Consulate hosts the event, watching the film 
with students and then leading a post-film discussion.  These 
films are also used as part of an on-going movie night at the 
Consulate where themes have ranged from diversity in the United 
States to American politics.  The MPAA/MPA delegation applauded 
the Consulate's and China Mission's efforts to introduce more 
American films to young Chinese audiences. 
CAMP