With Thailand remaining on the United States' Priority Watch List (PWL) for another year, local film distributors and home entertainment companies are questioning the government's ability to enforce the law against pirated films, which cost the industry more than Bt10 billion ($330m) a year, report The Nation

To compete with the illegal trade, local firms are seeking new marketing approaches to boost revenue and retain existing customers. The industry fears that being on the PWL list for the fourth consecutive year, Thailand will face economic sanctions and new trade barriers from Western countries.

DVD and film piracy is estimated to be worth more than Bt12 billion a year. The legal DVD market amounts to just 10% of that. The Nation reports there existence of some 50,000 illegal DVD and film points of sale across the country, with each of them earning at least Bt20,000 ($660) in monthly revenue from pirated goods, which also had to cover costs, including tea money.

Pirated films are said to be imported from Russia and the US by a couple of key cartels with connections to foreign cartels. They are also downloaded from the Internet. Here, they are reproduced, with subtitles and voiceovers added in the local language.

Illegal films often reach the shelves only a couple of days after the originals are shown on the big screen. This damages the cinema business by reducing the number of moviegoers.

Story filed 04.07.11