Speech by Director IPOS at Maris Stella High School

Speech by Director-General (IPOS), Ms Liew Woon Yin at the Launch of MPA Educational Brochure on Risks of Illegal File-Sharing (Supported by the HIP Alliance) on Wednesday, 4 April 2007, 12.00 p.m at Maris Stella High School (Secondary).

Mr Michael Ellis, Senior Vice President and Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, Motion Picture Association
Brother Anthony Tan, Principal, Maris Stella High School
Teachers
Students

Good Afternoon.

I am happy to join you this afternoon for the launch of the MPA brochure on the risks of illegal file-sharing. This initiative by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and supported by the HIP (Honour IP) Alliance is part of the concerted efforts by both government and the private sector to educate our younger generation on the perils of illegal file-sharing and copyright infringement.
Intellectual Property or IP are the products of someone’s creativity and hard work. These efforts deserve protection. In Singapore, inventors and creators can protect their works as different forms of IP such as patents, trade marks and copyright.
But, what exactly is IP, you may ask. IP is in every part of our life. The movies that keep us spellbound, the songs that touch our hearts and the fashion that help present our best front. IP has become synonymous with modern living. IP is the building block on which new technology and systems, for instance, the internet, are created.
But just as technology and the internet have allowed us to learn and do many things more conveniently, they have also made it easy for people to steal the creations of others. A good example is the scores of musics and movies being downloaded regularly. Often, no one pauses to consider whether such action is right or permissible. Just because there are no physical walls to stop you does not make it right to download songs or movies without due payment to or permission from the content owners.
In a report released by MPA in 2006, it was found that piracy cost the worldwide motion picture industry an estimated $18.2 billion in 2005, of which slightly over $7 billion was attributed to internet piracy.
And they are not alone. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents the recording industry worldwide, quoted a study by market research agency NPD in its 2006 piracy report which suggests that a quarter of the decline in CD units in the US in 2005 was replaced by music consumption via illegal file-sharing.
So why should we be concerned about the impact of online piracy? I would say there are two main reasons. Firstly, it is for our own interest and secondly, it is in our national interest.
Let me explain. As I have mentioned earlier, copyrighted materials are the results of someone’s creativity and hard work. When distributed on file-sharing systems, the original creators do not receive due rewards because they are being distributed freely. The creators may therefore feel less motivated to continue their creativity blitz. This is understandable. Ask yourself, do you want to continue working hard when you know you will not be rewarded? So, if such activities persists, we will end up with no new music or movies or games to enjoy. Life will be quite sad and boring, won’t it?
Let’s now bring IP to the national perspective. With the rise of China and India as outsourcing destinations of the world, Singapore needs to compete not so much on costs and efficiency alone but more on ideas and innovation. IP is the means to that end. We need to support our own budding industries as they move up the value chain to create valuable IP. We need to play our part to respect and reward their creative efforts.
So what can you do to help? You can do the right thing. Make it your lifestyle practice to reject piracy and to go for the real thing. Need some music clips for your MP3? Check out legitimate sources such as Soundbuzz or Play by StarHub which offer soundtrack downloads at an affordable price of $2 each. I heard that some of the tracks even allow for duplication for a fixed number of copies. Moreover, you can be ensured that your purchase is of high quality and should there be any problems, help is always a phone call away.
To get this important message out, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), has been actively engaging the public through our flagship initiative, the HIP Alliance since 2002. Our approach is to work closely with industry players to educate and urge consumers to adopt a piracy-free lifestyle and ‘Say NO! to Piracy’. We encourage members of the public to pledge themselves as IP ambassadors and join us as HIP Friends, promising to uphold the spirit of HIP Alliance.
This year, the HIP Alliance will be focusing its annual campaign to highlight the challenges brought about by technology advancement, such as internet piracy and online counterfeiting activities. We want to encourage members of the public to be responsible ‘net citizens’ and avoid copyright infringement.
Hence, the HIP Alliance sees the MPA brochure as an effective communication tool to reach out to our younger generation. I hope students in Singapore will find the brochure useful for their adoption and help them appreciate the value of IP.
The launch in the beginning of the month of April is also timely as Singapore celebrates World IP Day on the 26th of April. Do keep a look out for more activities coming your way this month as the HIP Alliance reaches out to rally public support for creativity and legitimate businesses.
Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Brother Anthony Tan and the staff of Maris Stella High School for hosting the launch today and the MPA for inviting the HIP Alliance to come on board for this educational effort. We look forward to more collaborations going forward.
Thank you.