HMV fined for possessing illegal DVDs

A magistrate at Kowloon City Court fined HMV Hong Kong HK$6,000 yesterday for possessing 12 blue-ray DVDs without the licence of the copyright owner. On February 19, 2009, customs officers seized the DVDs titled Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which were imported from the US and were authorised for sale in the US only. The copyright owner had granted exclusive rights of sale to a licensee, which had not given HMV permission to sell the title. Magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen heard that the company had since improved its computer system to avoid similar administrative errors.