Record firms sue Solid Group

The major international record companies, Sony Music, EMI, BMG, WEA, Universal and the independent Sanctuary Records, filed yesterday a criminal complaint with the Department of Justice against Elena Lim of Solid Group Inc., Susan Tan, David Lim as well as six other respondents for copyright violations under the Intellectual Property Code.

The complainants alleged that the respondents conspired to commit 429,966 acts of copyright infringement, notably the manufacture and distribution of large numbers of counterfeit and pirated CDs including those of leading artists such as The Beatles, Celine Dion, Will Smith, Bryan Adams, Abba and Mariah Carey.

Efforts by The STAR to contact representatives of Solid Group to comment on the complaint proved futile yesterday.

In a press statement, the complainants said Solid Laguna Corp. which has operated a CD replicating plant since about 1996, was raided by the Philippine National Police on Sept. 19, following an investigation by IFPI, the international trade association of the record industry.

The search warrant was issued by Judge Dolores Español of the Regional Trial Court of Dasmariñas, Cavite. Besides business records, stampers and compact discs, two replicating machines worth about P120 million were seized, the statement added.

Solid Laguna Corp. is part of Solid Group Inc., a publicly listed Philippine company, of which Elena Lim is chairman and president. SGI is the holding company for subsidiaries engaged in the manufacture and distribution of electronic products, audio, video and home electrical products.

Other respondents are James Dy, David Chung, Wilson Alejandro, Joseph de Luna, Maria Velacruz and Kenneth Lallave. These individuals were responsible officers or employees of other corporations within SGI, namely Solid Video Corp., Solid Corp. and Destiny Cable Inc., and have been cited in the complaint as playing a role in the alleged copyright violations.

Business records seized during the raid allegedly showed that Destiny Cable Inc. headed by David Lim, had operated the CD replication during its part start-up period. A former director of Solid Video Corp., Kenneth Lallave is alleged to be among those who solicited substantial orders for the alleged infringing CDs and VCDs. The alleged infringing CDs and VCDs are said to have been manufactured and delivered by Solid Laguna Corp. The complaint also alleged that records show that Solid Laguna Corp. facilitated the importation of stampers – metal discs containing copyright material, used for the replication of CDs and VCDs.

The maximum penalty as specified in the Philippines Intellectual Property Code is imprisonment for up to three years plus fines of up to P150,000 for each copyright violation. In this complaint, the record companies have indicated that they suffered damages in excess of P147 million excluding legal costs and fees, and have reserved the right to file additional criminal, civil and administrative cases in relation to the activities of the respondents and companies within SGI.

"Our member record companies are absolutely determined to pursue this case to the fullest extent possible under the law and we anticipate further copyright infringement claims arising from the same raid," said Geoff Taylor, deputy general counsel and director of litigation of IFPI.