Initially, three Pakistani companies used to do the copying business out of Singapore and sold the cassettes and CDs in places where expatriates lived. He added that the IMIA had established contacts with law enforcement agencies in Singapore who had turned on the heat on these pirates. He was here to assess the extent of piracy and copyright infringement of Indian music products in Canada. Ribeiro met Jenkins and director of Canada Customs Glenda Laverne to discuss the problem. It was difficult for them to take any action earlier as there was no law under which Canada Customs could interfere in the infringement of intellectual property.
Canadian authorities are conscious of their obligations.
In Mumbai, Jenkins and RCMP constable Peter Faulhaber, along with Menon, met Indian music industry giants like Vijay Lazarus, president of IMIA and Universal Music, Suresh Thomas of BMG Crescendo, Kumar Taurani of Tips, Ganesh Jain of Venus Records, Shashi Gopal of Magnasound and Vijay Singh of Sony Music. This figure pertains to Western music only, he said, adding that 60 per cent of videos, CDs and cassettes entering Canada and the US were illegitimate copies. Ashish Soni Sports Catch the fever and excitement of the first Olympic Games of the millennium in our special, Sydney 2000.