BEIJING (Reuters) - China, seeking to avoid the curse of copyright pirates, launched the fifth Harry Potter book in Chinese a few days early on Thursday, offering a reward to anyone who reported fake copies.
The People's Literature Publishing House said the translation, editing and printing of 800,000 copies of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" had been accelerated so they could go on sale nationwide on Sunday, more than 10 days ahead of the scheduled release date.
"We welcome readers to actively report any copyright violations or illegal activity and if the report is verified we will give a reward," Liu Yushan, head of the publishing house, told reporters.
Unauthorized translations of J.K. Rowling's book were available in China about a month after the June release.
The publishing house, which has the sole right to publish the book in China, lodged a complaint with the anti-piracy authorities after the fakes emerged, Liu said.
In 2000, the publisher was forced to bring forward the release date of the legitimate Chinese versions of the first three Harry Potter books by a week because of the proliferation of pirate copies.
The boy wizard is so popular in China that copies of at least one book of entirely phoney Potter tales, with no English equivalent, has been snatched up by fans.
http://news.excite.com/odd/article/id/199032|oddlyenough|09-18-2003::09:12|reuters.html
The People's Literature Publishing House said the translation, editing and printing of 800,000 copies of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" had been accelerated so they could go on sale nationwide on Sunday, more than 10 days ahead of the scheduled release date.
"We welcome readers to actively report any copyright violations or illegal activity and if the report is verified we will give a reward," Liu Yushan, head of the publishing house, told reporters.
Unauthorized translations of J.K. Rowling's book were available in China about a month after the June release.
The publishing house, which has the sole right to publish the book in China, lodged a complaint with the anti-piracy authorities after the fakes emerged, Liu said.
In 2000, the publisher was forced to bring forward the release date of the legitimate Chinese versions of the first three Harry Potter books by a week because of the proliferation of pirate copies.
The boy wizard is so popular in China that copies of at least one book of entirely phoney Potter tales, with no English equivalent, has been snatched up by fans.
http://news.excite.com/odd/article/id/199032|oddlyenough|09-18-2003::09:12|reuters.html