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The story. When China lifted a ban on Walt Disney characters in 1978 and joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001, the US entertainment company saw a huge potential new market for sales and distribution of film, television content and DVDs in an increasingly liberalising economy.
The challenge. Within a short period of time, Disney realised that DVD piracy in China was undermining its own efforts; also, local competitors were making and distributing movies that resembled Disney’s at minimal cost. Moreover, because government censorship required Disney to remove sections of its movies before distribution, their local release was delayed, which gave the pirates a further edge. According to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, box office revenue in the Chinese film industry was worth roughly $700m by 2008. The estimated market for pirated DVDs was more than $5bn.