Movie buffs are snapping up cheap DVDs and VCDs of classic Hollywood movies released before 1965, because as of tomorrow, the sale of reproductions of unauthorized versions of overseas films will be banned, in accordance with WTO rules.
Taiwan's first Copyright Law (
Many companies have continued to reproduce these films and distribute them, without having to obtain the permission of the copyright holders.
However, WTO regulations require member countries to retroactively apply copyright protection for such media, including movies, music discs and comic books within two years of joining the world trade body.
REVISIONS
The government revised the Copyright Law to comply with the WTO's rules, and announced the amendment on July 10 last year, giving a one year grace period before the law would take effect.
Violators of the amendment will be sentenced to three years in prison, or fines of up to NT$750,000.
To take advantage of this last-minute opportunity, movie lovers have been snatching up low-priced duplicates of the films, making the products the hottest item in the market, said a cashier of Chien Le Record in Taipei's Kuanghwa Market (
The record shop charges NT$39 apiece for DVDs, including such films as Psycho, The Bridge On The River Kwai, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca and other Oscar-winning hits.
"Half of our stocks are gone, and I believe the shelf will be emptied by Saturday," said the cashier.
"People don't want to spend 20 times the amount the money to buy the same products," the cashier said.
WIDE EFFECT
Ann Chien, a director at DVD manufacturer AV Book Corp, which sells 100 classic DVDs for NT$7,700, said the company usually receives about 100 orders on a normal day, but is now getting triple that amount of business as the deadline approaches.
The same shopping rush also hit online shopping sites. Online bookseller books.com.tw's "Oscar classics" film collections, which contain 10 DVDs each for NT$349 per set, have been sold out.
Meanwhile, PC Home Online's shopping site sells 100 DVDs for NT$2,999, and it has also seen huge orders these days, said Joyce Tzeng (曾淑華), a public relations associate manager for the company.
However, the owner of Hsing Chu, another store in Kuanghwa Market, said the shopping spree is unnecessary, as authorized products will not be as pricey as most people expect, as many legal DVDs only cost from NT$99 to NT$199.
"I would rather spend a bit more on quality products ... I get really pissed off when the picture of these poor-quality DVDs gets stuck every time," he said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique