Filipino entertainment producers, Ed and Obeth Guevarra of EMG Sports and Entertainment expressed disappointment that the movie, “The Achy Breaky Hearts” has pirated copies circulating on social media. Their company have organised a special screening this 16 July, 3.30 pm at the Village Cinema in Fountain Gate in Narre Warren. However, some Filipino-Australians have started posting links or comments that they are watching or watched the movie. It is illegal to post such links as it not only kills the Philippine movie industry but affects legitimate Filipino producers in Australia.
Star Cinema recently issued a press statement on the illegal copies of the movie circulating online. It is alarmed over the proliferation of pirated versions of the movie on Facebook while it is still being shown n cinemas in the Philippines. The company reminded that posting or sharing copies of the movie in part or in its entirety is illegal and its legal team will do everything to bring to court those who violate the law.
On Instagram, lead actress Jodi Sta. Maria thanked those who have already seen the movie but expressed disappointment that illegal links of the movie are being shared online despite. Her co-stars Richard Yap and Ian Veneracion also reminded people to stop piracy.
Two years ago, Australian police raided a home of Mary Smith in Barooga, New South Wales and seized numerous pirate DVDs, DVD burners and hundreds of pirated ABS-CBN movies on computer hard drives located in her home. She was charged with selling infringing copies of works.
“Mary Smith was the largest seller of pirated ABS-CBN/Star Cinema movies on eBay,” ABS-CBN assistant vice president of Global Anti-Piracy Elisha Lawrence said in a statement.
“Piracy is a significant issue for ABS-CBN/Star Cinema because we want our customers to have the optimal experience viewing our content, which is not the case with these bootleg pirate copies. We are thankful for the support of the Australian police and look forward to the criminal process taking its course against this pirate,” the statement said.
The ABS-CBN also recently received a US$10 million judgment from the United States’ Federal District Court in Oregon against Jeffrey Ashby for damages from infringing the copyrights by rebroadcasting ABS-CBN’s popular TV shows and movies on his pirate websites. He hosted watchfilipinotv.com, watchfilipinomovies.com and pinoytalaga.com.
“We are protecting both our content and the consumers, especially online where they are exposed to unnecessary risk of malware infections,” ABS-CBN Global COO Raffy Lopez said. “But at the heart of this is for people to understand that piracy is not a victimless crime. We work hard to ensure that they appreciate the value and benefits of entertainment content and respect for copyright,” Lopez added.
If you find someone posting illegal links of the film, please email to report@abs-cbn.com. The company is serious to file legal charges.