Online pirating has caused damages of 2.6 billion crowns, says audio-visual industry

Online pirating in the Czech Republic has caused damages of 2.6 billion crowns, according to representatives of the audio-visual industry taking part in a discussion on the issue at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival on Saturday. According to the industry, the estimated damages that distributors, producers and artists in the Czech Republic incurred last year amounted to 610 million crowns, while servers offering a repository for illegal access to audio-visual materials earned 140 million. American director Taylor Hackford said online piracy was nothing more than theft and hurt primarily filmmakers starting out.