But industry officials say almost all of these products have been copied illegally.

A number of his toy designs were illegally copied by other companies.

Almost all of the 31 factories are believed to have illegally copied music or movies at some time.

Computer games use product keys to verify that the game has not been illegally copied.

When a pattern has been copied illegally, that is standard procedure.

The answer is no, unless an illegally copied file equals a lost sale.

This technique reportedly has been used to detect the source of illegally copied movies.

A spokesman added: 'Any inquiry will centre on whether the tape was illegally copied.

Most major films from the United States are illegally copied and sold within a week of their release.

In some cases, users suspected of illegally copying media are refused help on the forums.