So I noticed during my last visit to Hong Kong that there were a lot less fake/copy products compare to a few years ago.  

Has there been some sort of crack down lately?  

I'm really not that concerned, but I always find it interesting compared to the stuff that goes on in Korea.

Why shop for fakes in HK when you've got Shenzhen next door? Cheaper there in my opinion.

on a side note, it seems i'm advocating piracy

They have always been cracking down. I was told if caught selling, they is a huge fine. I think the second time is even worst.

For fake / copy stuff I would go to China. The closest place is in Shenzhen. You will find fake / copy LV, Nike shoes and fake North Face Jackets etc.



For Golden Computer Arcade in Sham Shui Po, there once was a place across the street that sold fake software. Even Golden Arcade once sold fake software in the open but not anymore. It was two small place located on the second floor that had steel roll up doors. They had stuff in English versions for Mac's and PC's. In China it's mostly Chinese versions and I prefer the English versions.  I went to the place last year and there are gone. I asked the other stores and was told there left about a 1 yr ago. So, it has been about 2 yrs since they left as of now.  

Does anyone know any place that sells fake software in HK ? Please PM and not post in the forum because of LE.

In terms of software, wouldn't it just be safer to download torrents instead? Not that I'm advocating that, but software and movies are readily abundant online.

On a side note though - Does anyone know if I will have issues bringing in CHINESE movies in from Hong Kong? If there is some ambiguity regarding its legality? I love HK movies and wanted to buy tons of tv series and movies there, but worried about US customs. I know they would enforce US software & movies, but do they care about chinese movies?

I just came back from china with over 200 us movies and 30 chinese movies, and as long as you leave the boxes behind, and just bring the discs in a DVD case you can say that you brought the movies with you to china o keep you occupied, and no customs official will bother you. GL with your movie hunting in china. If you are looking for a good, recent, chinese movie, try to find Aftershock about the tianshan earthquake.
Cheers

WRONG!!!
  
You are just lucky that you did not get stopped at the border.

U.S. customs don't care what stories you tell them - they catch you entering the country with fake DVD's - whether movies, programs or whatever, they are NOT going to listen to any stories. Especially since it's such an easy matter for them to determine that they are fake/no way your story or any story holds about having them

Especially with such large cache of counterfeit DVD's they not only easily could, but IMHO, they would definitely have thrown the book at you.

And as far as the PRC/Hong Kong customs, past articles in the Hong Kong papers have pointed out that the fine for counterfeit DVD "smuggling" has been astronomical (what - HK$10K per disc? Something like that) as both the Hong Kong as well as the PRC governments love to make a show of being tough in enforcing copyright laws.

Just IMHO - but be very careful with these counterfeit discs.

SEAJ

i'm not sure but depending on where pine99 is from, some ISPs monitor torrent traffic.

SEAJ is most likely right. US customs are serious about piracy and so it probably does not matter if its Chinese or US movies you are bringing in.

Also while I agree ditching the DVD boxes makes it less likely for you to be searched, if you are searched and found bringing in pirated goods, your excuse of bringing them to China to pass the time and then bringing them back in will most likely will not work. And more so especially with the number of goods you are bringing (back) in.

Not sure about customs in China, but in HK, while the fine is high, it is rarely enforced on 'normal' travellers as opposed to smugglers. But HK is the first country to criminally prosecute (not just civil) for BT uploading, while the US has in the past been quite vigilant with BT downloaders in prosecuting them in civil courts with crazy huge fines per movie, although this amount is usually negotiated down and settled at a lower amount which I've heard is still high. The total number of people may not be high in the grand scale of things, but if you are the one picked, they are trying to make an example of you to others.

[ Last edited by  angst at 2-2-2011 17:05 ]

Being in Japan, you need to be careful with the whole torrent stuff.  I don't really know how much they have really been cracking down, but there have been some pretty high profile cases here and plenty of media stories about it.

Not worth the risk in my opinion.

many of the ISPs globally are cooperating with the media and gaming industry so it isnt surprising to hear of 'examples being made of'

sometimes i think it's a matter of luck as well, was based in europe for 5 months last year and i downloaded so many movies yet wasn't warned or anything of that sort.

Get PeerBlock and keep it on while using torrents. It has a very large and always updated list of addresses that it blocks from potentially dangerous sources (anti-P2P and many government sources). www.peerblock.com

I've had experience in the past getting bootleg DVDs from across the border. But that was during SARS crisis, long time ago. Even then my companion was stopped for inspection. We never thought he made it past customs without getting fined or at least verbal warning.

Now, I'd rather buy expensive disk than risk getting caught.

At the airport leaving HK, there is a glass cabinet for things that are considered illegal to transport. The cabinet had things like, fake dvd movies, fake LV purses, dried crocodile meat and wild American Ginseng.

you mean, stuff that most HK immigrants would have in their suitcases?
if you get stopped by customs, they will take anything and everything that is not allowed. Piracy is piracy all over the world and is illegal so it doesn't matter if it's a Chinese, Hong Kong, or US film, it will be siezed. Whether or not you end up being fined depends on your country's policies and the guy dealing with your case.

I got stopped once at London Gatwick and I had a bag of Aiji pork+beef jerky in my suitcase. Stuff got "siezed" but no further action was taken.

On the other hand, I've heard third party stories about some random elder aunt who got fined on a "per scallop (or was it abalone)" basis or some such hard to believe way.


Also, I haven't been to Hk for a couple of years now, do they still run the pay now and come back in half an hour thing?
I picked up a couple of very good copies of current cinema films the last time I was there (after a very nervous half hour wait..)

[ Last edited by  wasabi at 2-2-2011 17:14 ]

Last time  I saw fake s/ware for sale was in 188 Wanchai Road but that must have been a year ago or so.

The law in Hong Kong excludes any pirate DVD's if for personal use.  There is no fine in the Ordinance.  Distribution for commercial use is punishable.

You were fortunate that they did not search you. The DVDs were fakes with or without the box. Even though the discs looked like the real stuff, if you look closely at the center of the disc, you will find Chinese words engraved along the center hole of the disc. This is a dead giveaway that the disc is forged.

It is a good idea to unwrap the DVDs and ask the store for a free DVD holder (if you buy say 50 they will give you or buy for 20rmb) and put them in there.  Much less obvious and without packaging you don't know where they came from.  Also less likely to be searched since it is in DVD case not loose DVDs and obvious you aren't selling them.

Yeah I'm certainly not intending to buy a bunch of bootlegs this time around but a couple of years ago when I went to Shanghai, I found a bunch of good tv shows and movies I never saw available here in the US at the local chinese movie shops. Everywhere I went, even store fronts, I could tell the movies were fake. The images on the disc were so pixelated and at the bottom of the disc - you could see the burn ring of how much data had been written on it. I did end up buying a whole bunch of dvds but was so paranoid about bringing it through customs that I copied all the dvd's into ISO's on my laptop and just dropped off a large stack of movies off to a street vendor on my way to the airport. The pain is burning them back onto DVD's once I get home  Might sound a bit stupid and laborious, but I really just wanted to watch the movies and tv shows. I can't read chinese (but can speak it) so I wouldn't really be able to navigate reading through chinese torrents.

This time around though, I won't be bringing a laptop - just my ipad and iphone. Hopefully the legit storefronts will have movies for a reasonal price. I am buying blindly and half the movies could up end up just sucking.

SEAJ is RIGHT on this one.  

I personally know someone that had to put their house on lien due to entering the country ( u.s ) with a bunch of fake dvd's.  The U.S govt is serious about it, if you got away, your lucky, but if they want to bust your ass, bust your ass they will.

@ SEAJ

Unfortunately i did not word my statement quite carefully enough, my fault. You are right, of all the things you could bring into the US, fake DVD's are one of the most confiscated items. The point of my post was to give a method which would make it less likely for you to have to undergo a search and seizure. However, that said, it is still quite risky to bring back any physical fake copies from abroad. I also have no clue about HK customs rules, so i wouldnt risk it based on what others have said.