International
Piracy of Hong Kong made films on YouTube amounts to loss of over $308 million
MUMBAI: A good deal of copyright infringement of Hong Kong-made films from YouTube has been unearthed with pirated footage of over 200 Hong Kong films found on the world’s largest video-sharing website.
The act amounts to an estimated loss of over $308 million to the local film industry, according to the Hong Kong Motion Pictures Industry Association (MPIA). The members of the Association have urged YouTube and other video-sharing websites to enforce the German Court ruling last Friday to implement measures to restrict content that infringe copyright.
The recent local box office hit Love in the Buff was found to be the most uploaded film that directly affected the theatrical gross of the film. The videos were taken off after a formal complaint made to YouTube by Media Asia, the copyright holder of Love in the Buff.
But YouTube did not act promptly when contacted by Media Asia to remove the illegally obtained film, taking days for the removal. “YouTube repeatedly requested the copyright holder to prove that they are the holder in order to remove the pirated videos of Love in the Buff, while they allow anyone to claim to be the copyright holder when uploading the videos. It’s very unreasonable,” MPIA CEO Brian Chung has been reported to have said. “The pirated videos on YouTube greatly hurt the theatrical performance of the film,” he added.
In view of the pirated video of Buff on YouTube, MPIA members have searched and found in three days over 200 films illegally uploaded on to YouTube, including films from both the past and recent Hong Kong Film Award winners like A Simple Life, The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, Echoes of the Rainbow, and Shaolin Soccer.
With accumulated views of over 40 million, MPIA estimated a loss of over HK$2.4 billion to the Hong Kong film industry based on an average cinema ticket price of HK$60.
International
Utopai Studios unveils 4K three-minute video generation for PAI platform
New Story Agent and editing tools aim to streamline AI-led filmmaking workflows
MUMBAI: Utopai Studios has announced a major upgrade to its PAI storytelling AI platform, introducing what it claims is an industry-first capability to generate three-minute videos in 4K resolution, alongside enhancements to its Story Agent feature.
The update, rolling out from April 15, expands the platform’s capabilities across the filmmaking process, from early concept development to post-production. The company said the new features are designed to help filmmakers maintain continuity across characters, scenes and visual styles, a key challenge in AI-driven storytelling.
At the heart of the release is a next-generation model that enables more structured narrative development, allowing creators to move more seamlessly from idea to execution. With tools such as multi-shot sequencing and multi-turn editing, the platform aims to give both studios and independent creators greater control over complex storytelling workflows.
Commenting on the launch, Utopai Studios co-founder and CTO Jie Yang said, “The next phase of AI in media will not be defined by isolated tools, but by systems that can carry story, continuity and collaboration across the full creative process.” He added that the update is a step towards enabling more practical, end-to-end narrative development at a professional level.
Echoing this, Utopai Studios co-founder and chief scientific officer Zijian He said, “Generative video is opening the door to a new production model, where creative ambition is less constrained by traditional cost and complexity.” He noted that the platform combines multimodal models with iterative editing to give creators more speed, control and consistency.
The company said PAI is already being used in professional film and television productions, particularly in Hollywood, for tasks such as pre-visualisation, scene design and post-production refinements. The latest update adds features including improved voice options, character consistency, unlimited editing and more flexible asset management.
Utopai also emphasised that its models are not trained on copyrighted material, positioning the platform as a cleaner alternative for creators and rights holders navigating the evolving AI landscape.
As AI continues to reshape content creation, Utopai’s latest push signals a shift from standalone tools to integrated systems, aiming to make high-quality filmmaking faster, more flexible and increasingly accessible.
