While cultural shock is common among first-time overseas travelers, Ji Bing, a 27-year-old client manager in a bank, still thinks he got a particularly electrifying one on a recent European package tour. The young man, who saved half a year for this trip, was baffled when he was admired as a very rich man at a DVD rental store in a Munich suburb during an after-dinner walk.

"To practice my English, I told the clerk in the store who is in his 40s that I have a private collection of over 1,000 such DVDs," recalled Ji, a huge fan of Hollywood movies.

"Hearing that, the clerk said I was literally rich especially considering my age." Ji still doesn't get the logic of the clerk, who later told him he didn't own all rental DVDs in his store.

Ji cannot see his DVD collection as a fortune. "Every disc costs me 6 or 7 yuan, which all add up to around 7,000 yuan, which is around my monthly wage and less than half of the clerk's own wage. Then how can he call me a rich man?" said a confused Ji.

The best explanation for Ji's bewilderment is that all his DVDs are counterfeits, which are so readily available in China. In fact, in most cases of new theatrical releases it's the only version available.

But as foreign studios begin serious efforts to market legitimate DVDs in China, Ji will soon face a choice between buying a cheap counterfeit and a slightly more expensive legal copy of higher quality. Ji's choice, together with tens of millions of home video lovers in the country, will finally decide the success or failure of Hollywood movie studios' new round of efforts to battle piracy through nurturing a market for genuine copies.

A business solution

As China's trade surplus with the United States has repeatedly broken records in recent months, it is no wonder a protectionist tone found a way into the rhetoric of visiting U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. "Another victim of widespread intellectual property theft in China is American support for expanding our trade relations," said the visiting secretary.

However, the highlight of the U.S. secretary's visit, the signing of an exclusive agreement between Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and China's largest video distributor, Zoke Cultural Group, on November 13, offset the subtle hint of protectionism by sending a positive message.

Marking a milestone for the studio, Fox has launched an in-country business with Zoke as its exclusive partner to supply the Chinese market with legitimate copies of recent theatrical releases and celebrated titles from the studio's library. With Fox's commitment to releasing the titles more quickly on DVD, Zoke has started its first wave of DVD and VCD titles in November, led by blockbuster Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties (out November 20), Ice Age: The Meltdown (December 1) and X-Men: The Last Stand (by the end of this year). Fox announced at the signing ceremony that at least 100 movies on DVD will be exported to China in 2007.

"The distribution agreement between Fox and Zoke is an important symbol of the stake both China and the United States have in seeing intellectual property rights vigorously enforced in China," said the visiting commerce secretary.

At the signing ceremony, Fox Home Entertainment Worldwide President Mike Dunn pointed out two reasons for choosing Zoke. The first is its distribution capacity: Zoke has a distribution network of over 20,000 retail outlets throughout China. The other is its solid reputation in fighting intellectual property right infringements.