Hong Kong/Beijing – The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) president and chief operating officer Bob Pisano made a call for a pro-legitimate stance by the Chinese authorities at the Second China International Copyright Expo. He made his remarks on the weekend while witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) designed to increase cooperation between the China Film Copyright Association (CFCA) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Pisano also highlighted the importance of greater market access and industry cooperation in the fight against rampant movie piracy in China. “The MPA congratulates the Chinese government in its efforts in fighting piracy and raising awareness among the public. However piracy is still severely hindering the entertainment industry’s development in China – especially the home video business which is being devastated by a lack of legitimate retail outlets, inadequately slow censorship and rampant piracy,” said Pisano. “We urge the government to adopt and promote a pro-legitimate policy that will enable the industry to effectively compete with pirated products which are widely available in the country.” Foreign entertainment products are under strict government import control when entering China and outdated regulations and administrative barriers restrict foreign companies from investing in the wholesale and retail audio-video business sector. The situation has been further worsened in recent years by widespread internet piracy where copyright infringers use legal loopholes to escape punishment. In its effort to fight piracy and help develop legitimate online businesses, the MPA has actively engaged the Chinese government and industry in its effort to seek sustainable business models that would adopt effective copyright protection technologies and mechanisms.