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Stop piracy now!
PAKISTAN is one of the world’s leading producers of optical discs. From audio CDs to DVDs, VCDs, MP3 CDs and blank CDs, Pakistan is one big bustling manufacturer of the world’s most popular form of data storage. But the sad part is that the country is also one of the largest producers of illegal, pirated CDs in the world.
From the sprawling city centre of Karachi to the bara market of Peshawar, Pakistan has not only positioned itself as one of the dominant producers of pirated CDs, it has also become one the prominent exporters of the ware. From the UAE to as far as the US and the UK, Pakistani-produced CDs are being shipped and sold.
Piracy has been the name of the game since the early 1980s when pirated VHS cassettes became the mainstay of home entertainment. But from its initial days as a cottage industry, where people used to buy original cassettes and then make copies in their video shops, pirated cassettes and then CDs are today a major industry, employing hundreds if not thousands of people. Last year, Pakistan physically manufactured 237,937,500 optical discs, all for storing pirated ware.
From the sprawling city centre of Karachi to the bara market of Peshawar, Pakistan has not only positioned itself as one of the dominant producers of pirated CDs, it has also become one the prominent exporters of the ware. Last year, Pakistan physically manufactured 237,937,500 optical discs
According to the IFPI, the exports from Pakistan are really hurting the music industry’s business all over the world. Pirated CDs have drastically reduced the demand for legitimate CDs all around and that is why representatives from all the major global music businesses have been putting pressure on the Pakistani government to immediately take measures to curb the menace of piracy. The recommended steps include:
* An effective optical disc regulation should be implemented. This should include mandatory adoption of Source Identification (SID) codes for all OD plants. This enables tracing the CDs back to the plants where they are manufactured.
* The existing copyright legislation should be updated. The one in present use is inadequate and does not address the intensity of the problem.
* A public awareness campaign against copyright piracy should be conducted. The masses should be made aware of what they stand to lose from piracy.
* Intellectual Property Rights training should be given to all enforcement agents, prosecutors and judges. Though laws exist in the country, they are not understood by their enforcers, thus making them laws look good only on paper, and not in action.
* An IPR task force within the Federal Investigation Agency with ex-officio authority should be established.
* Effective anti-piracy enforcement actions with the help of the FIA should be taken.
* And lastly, IFPI officials should be allowed to visit and inspect OD plants.
Though expecting the government to take immediate action in all these matters would be asking too much, some steps have been taken.
Last year, the Central Bureau of Revenue sent out a notification to all departments concerned, including Customs, to put a check to the export/smuggling of pirated CDs. Act 15 was amended as well and for the first time in a number of years, exports of CDs came to a halt. Even today, official exports of CDs is not possible. Previously, they were being exported under the tag of general goods. But now, CDs are being smuggled out of the country, which according to copyright enforcers, is a positive sign. A number of smuggling attempts have been foiled as well, including one in which an attempt to ‘export’ over 1,000,000 CDs was thwarted at Karachi airport.
But such a step, it seems has had a little effect on the pirates, as they are now pursuing their activities more aggressively. The number of CD manufacturing plants has increased from eight to 10 while the import of polycarbotate (a chemical used in the manufacture of CDs) has registered an increase of five per cent.
For the sole purpose of establishing an intellectual property conscious-based business environment, the government had also established PIPRO (Pakistan Intellectual Property Rights Organization). However, as of date, no ministry has been handed charge of it, partly because a number of the ministries are not interested in regulating its activities.
More needs to be done to rein in these pirates. It is because of their activities that a leading label like EMI left the country and others are yet to take interest in investing here. In India, a copyrighted audio-cassette is being sold for Rs100. International labels that want to come to Pakistan have shown an interest in selling it for Rs50 here. But, in the absence of a guarantee from the government, it seems unlikely that they’ll be attracted by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s investment incentives.
It’s not about royalty anymore
TALKING to Shahbaz, Manger of Atif Aslam, one gets an idea of how music piracy is really stifling the creative juices of an artist.
“Despite stay orders from the courts our work is being pirated everywhere. After paying us a lump sum, the labels are simply free to do whatever they like with an artist’s work. But the sad part is that most companies in Pakistan are busy pirating their own works. Producing and getting away with cheap quality products, CDs, the inlay work and everything else associated with the song and the album. In fact the packaging is so substandard that it damages the artist’s image. It is not just about royalty anymore. At the same time, it is very difficult to get a new song copyrighted. If you submit even the lyrics with the government departments concerned, it takes them more than a year to complete the whole process.
“There should be standards that should regulate the labels for checks and balances. Internet piracy, too, is a problem.”—A.K.
‘Govt support is a must’
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APART from the artists, the labels too have been feeling the pinch of the piracy issue. Hasan Shah, owner of Thar Productions a Karachi-based music company, is all vocal about the struggle that his company has to go through just to stay alive.“In our fight against piracy, we have so far, on our own, without any outside help, registered no less than 152 FIRs against the perpetrators all over Pakistan. We are doing this with the help of our own team of lawyers and initially tried to have cases registered in the local courts. But that failed for the lack of knowledge and awareness of the law among the local law enforcers. Now we are pursuing our strategy in the Lahore High Court.”
When representatives of Thar Productions went to the local police to register cases against the pirates, the authorities were completely ignorant of the laws. Instead they started suspecting the TP people of wanting to hijack the tunes.
Hasan continues: “We need to control the rampant levels of piracy in order to save our music. Pirates are so well organized that within six hours of the original release, they have their own copies in the market.
“Government support is a must in protecting the music and the movie industry. Laws need to be changed and updated, and enforced stringently and vigorously because if you don’t do this, the remaining artists — those few who are still left — will also leave.”
Hasan is of the view that through the simple act of enforcing copyright laws, economic activity will flower and at the same time international recognition will come Pakistan’s way. —A.K.
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