In their continued quest to clamp down piracy in the music and movie industries, Malaysian authorities will not only step up enforcement measures against peddlers of pirated compact discs, they are now looking to the source of the problem – optical disc plants. These plants which are more often than not based in homes and small factories, have reportedly churned out nearly 300 million units of compact disc blanks, of which only 20 million units catered to the legitimate demand for compact disc blanks.

In order to monitor and control the number of compact disc blanks manufactured, all optical disc plants will have to be registered with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs from 15 March 2001 onwards. This is in conjunction with the full implementation of the new Optical Discs Act, which was passed on 1 August 2000. The new Act will empower enforcement officers to act against optical disc manufacturers for example, by searching premises without a search warrant. The Act also imposes fines up to RM500,000 against deterrent offenders.

The level of piracy in Malaysia has reached astounding heights with the Recording Industry of Malaysia (RIM) estimating that more than 60 per cent of compact discs or cassettes sold are pirated. The Video and Film Industry Association of Malaysia (Vifim) has estimated that pirated Video Compact Discs (VCDs) account for 80 per cent of the video market.

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