The International Intellectual Property Alliance in a report said piracy levels are extremely high in Bangladesh and there is little or no enforcement of its recently amended Copyright Act.

Bangladesh should step up its efforts to crack down on pirate production facilities and piracy-based retail outlets, the alliance said recommending the government to carry out sustained raids by enforcement authorities.

President of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh Aftab ul Islam quoted the report at a seminar on Sunday organised by Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services which was attended by Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Moudud Ahmed as chief guest.

The report said it is very sad to note that Sunbeam, the official agent of one of the most important record companies (Saregama) in the region, is considering closing its HMV business in Bangladesh because of financial losses it accrued mainly due to piracy.

Sony Music, which has already delayed its launch in Dhaka, could face a similar scenario. Sunbeam is now thinking of changing its business from audiocassette production to blank CD-R production and is in negotiation with European companies for the purchase of a blank CD-R production plant for installation in Dhaka.

The annual retail turnover for both legitimate and pirate products is Tk 16 crore.

Bangladesh remains a cassette-dominated market. The market size is estimated at two million of music cassettes per month and 0.7 million audio CDs per month. CD penetration for all formats is expected to increase significantly over the next two to three years, partly due to smuggling of CD players from Taiwan and China, the alliance said in its report.

It is estimated that at least 50 percent of the pirated CDs are smuggled into Bangladesh from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and other regions.

The Copyright Act of Bangladesh went into effect in July 2000. Bangladesh should take the opportunity to update the Copyright Act in order to combat piracy and pave the way for intellectual property industries to develop, invest and create jobs, the alliance recommended.