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In Thailand, counterfeit CDs, VCDs and DVDs are openly sold on the street for a fraction of their retail price Authorities in Asian nations have made only a dent in a practice that costs copyright owners worldwide an estimated US$60 billion a year, said Tan Sri Mohyiddin Yassin, Malaysia's minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs "The days of mom-and-pop shops eroding your business are gone," said Mike Ellis of the Motion Picture Association Later this month, various Thai government agencies are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding to coordinate anti-piracy efforts, said Thawatchai Sophastienphong of Thailand's Commerce Ministry Panel Says Video Piracy Thiving in Asia Dec 3, 10:14 AM EST BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) ââ‚¬â€? Video piracy in Asia has exploded into a billion-dollar business as organized gangs elbow out back-alley operators and fast-evolving technology makes copying easier than ever, officials said Tuesday But these efforts may do little to deter pirates because by the penalties they face in many Asian countries amount to little more than a slap on the wrist, said Ellis, who heads the MPA's regional anti-piracy group Asian nations are fighting back with high-profile initiatives Speakers at CineAsia 2002 stressed that Asian countries, as well as copyright holders, pay the price for rampant piracy The Malaysian minister said officials responsible for inspecting factories suspected of making counterfeit goods get death threats and have their cars burned, and described how they are kept waiting at factory doors while evidence of wrongdoing is concealed The lucrative business is often controlled by organized and powerful gangs, Ellis said Today's pirates are criminal syndicates "developing business plans to steal your business," he said Thawatchai noted that Thai record companies have started to feel the need for more stringent protection of intellectual property in recent years as homegrown singers have nudged Western pop stars out of the charts "I think deterrent sentencing is absolutely crucial," he said, adding that Asia "falls far short" in that respect In Thailand, producers of counterfeit goods face a maximum four-year prison term and a 80,000 baht (dlrs 1,900) fine, and sellers a two-year sentence and 40,000 baht (dlrs 950) fine The development of easy-to-copy optical media such as DVDs and VCDs has made pirates' job easier Malaysia set up an anti-piracy task force in 1999 and has instituted a system of licensing optical disk makers and having them burn special ID numbers into their products, the Malaysian minister said Speaking at a trade show in the Thai capital, a panel of industry experts warned that high-profile crackdowns by countries in the region have failed to stem the trade in part because offenders typically face token penalties And judges in this country and elsewhere tend to be lenient on offenders It discourages foreign investment, cuts into tax revenues and costs money to combat, the Malaysian minister said