Piracy in ChinaThe American Heritage Dictionary defines piracy as "the unauthorized duplication of copyrighted or patented material." It's a problem that affects companies all over the world. Software, film and music piracy is a common phenomenon in China. China has the second worst piracy rate in the world; approximately 92% of software in China is pirated (Williams 2004). Various companies and governments have attempted to combat piracy, but have not seen much success until recent years. Fighting piracy is a difficult task, especially in a country that has historically not enforced intellectual property laws. Piracy costs companies and artists money. Companies spend millions of dollars on research and development to build software. Artists spend countless hours filming a movie or recording an album. Record labels and film production companies spend millions of dollars producing and marketing entertainment media. The investments of companies and artists should be returned in the form of profits from the media that companies and artists sell to the public. However, if “pirates” sell illegal copies of the media, the companies earn nothing. For example, Feng Xiaogang, a Chinese filmmaker, said in an article on CNN.com: “We estimate that a pirated DVD is seen by five people and that there are about a million pirated copies of our film. One million copies for five people for 2.10 dollars per ticket: that is more than twelve million Yuan in box office losses” (FlorCruz 2002). Piracy costs people their jobs. Companies like Microsoft can't afford to pay thousands of employees if they don't make a profit from their products. Companies have been reluctant to outsource software development to China, which hurts Chinese software developers, because companies fear the software will be leaked to the public. The music industry suffered a “14% decline in album sales from 1999 to 2002, largely due to pirated music” (Ryan 2003). Record labels no longer make as much profit from CDs, which has forced them to lay off employees. Piracy causes people to lose motivation to create. Companies, filmmakers and musicians are all interested in producing and selling their products. However, many companies and people lose motivation to create products if they cannot profit from their products. For example... half of the document... which highlights the importance of stopping piracy in China. Elimination of piracy is unlikely, but can be reduced. Works Cited Bloomberg. "The crackdown on piracy has strengthened in China." International Herald Tribune 7 September 2004. 23 September 2004 .Cain, Robert. "Content Piracy in China: A Huge Problem. Is There a Solution?" The Hollywood Reporter February 27, 2004. September 23, 2004 “China Gets Tough on Piracy.” Wired March 8, 1999. September 23, 2004. Dao, Wen. "China defends itself from computer piracy." The China Daily 20 September 2004. 23 September 2004 .FlorCruz, Jaime. “Piracy cripples China's film industry.” CNN.com March 22, 2002. September 23, 2004 .Kyne, Phelim. “Microsoft files piracy complaints against 3 Chinese companies.” SmartMoney September 10, 2004. September 23, 2004. Lusby, Jo. "DVD or bust!" City Weekend 19 August 2004. 23 September 2004 .Rohde, Laura. “China cracks down on piracy.” PC World September 17, 2004. September 23, 2004 .Ryan, Joel. “RIAA File Lawsuits: Lots.” AND! News Online September 8, 2003. September 23, 2004 .Watson, James. “Piracy Stops Xbox in China.” The Register November 15, 2001. September 23, 2004. Williams, Sam. "Profits from Piracy." Salon.com September 26, 2002. 23. 2004