Civil action planned in fight against copyright theft

The Association Against Copyright Theft is stepping up its fight against illegal copying by instituting civil action against pirates, a move that could deal a major blow to a rampant trade.

The civil action, which will be kick-started at the beginning of next year, would render the guilty not only liable to pay all court expenses but also the relative amount in compensation for losses incurred by the industry. This could run into several thousands of liri.

Despite counter-measures, the problem of piracy is far from dead and buried, according to AACT president Joe Borg, who yesterday addressed a news conference at the KRS offices, in Valletta.

During the past few months, the police carried out 170 raids and over 14,000 pirated DVDs and PlayStation games were seized, several DVD and CD burners were confiscated and over 54 persons were arraigned.

"Consumers have to understand that buying a pirated DVD is far from the 'victimless' and innocuous crime it is often portrayed and perceived to be," Mr Borg explained.

Street markets and shops renting and selling pirate DVDs were triggering off a major problem for the police and AACT inspectors.

KRS general manager Charles Pace believes it is impossible to estimate the number of pirated items on offer in Malta. However, there were some trends that showed that the problem was widespread.

He wondered why several DVD rental shops had acquired just one copy of popular titles like Harry Potter and Troy, prompting one to suspect that copies were being made. Just about 300 DVDs of the immensely popular film The Passion Of The Christ were sold, a stark difference to the estimated 2,000 sales of the film Titanic. Pirated copies of the blockbuster Shark Tale were being sold at give-away prices, even before the film hit the big screen.

Mr Pace said one also had to look at the long-lasting repercussions on the film industry. A third of all films shown in Malta lose money and piracy could only help to deal a blow to the film industry, especially the niche market.

The downloading of material from the internet was also creating a major headache. Home copying was raising its head with many reportedly renting out DVDs only to copy them at home. In fact, three cases involving illegal products that were being sold over the internet were apprehended and subsequently taken to court.

Mr Borg said consumers should be aware that piracy was often fuelling drug and human trafficking, as confirmed by Interpol.

The government had a responsibility to ensure that piracy is brought under control, as requested by the European Union, which has instructed all member states to provide an enforcement mechanism against piracy by 2006.

For the first time, Mr Borg said, the whole industry is uniting in the fight against piracy and two film trailers warning about the scourge of the trade will be shown in all cinemas worldwide, including Malta.

Consumers can report cases of copyright theft on Freephone 800793719.