CD/DVD Piracy

Yes, the panic alert that went around after the FIA raids on the CD/DVD manufacturing factories had viewers flumoxed, but they heaved a sigh of relief when pirated films slowly but surely started making their way back to the shops. Lahore might be crying for its share of movies, but this last weekend Karachiites have been home happy with their copies of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (a good demo print, that is as good as a master copy).

The crackdown on piracy is nothing new in Pakistan. After all, we all recall te days when Rainbow Centre was closed down for a little over a week before its doors were reopenend. Karachi is the largest video and audio market in Pakistan and its distribution networks, though illegal, are sophisticated enough to come up with alternative avenues when those that exist are forcibly shut.

Indeed, in the wake of CD factories being shut down for producing pirated CDs, even legitimate labels like Soundmaster cannot release music, because they used the facillities of the same factories that have been shut down. On the other hand the fact that no action is being taken against cable operators that continue to show english and Indian movies much to their delight of their viewers is just one example of why nobody is taking copyright seriously at all - just yet.

Piracy has for so long been the norm in this country that a switch to copyright will have to involve a long term plan to create awareness of intellectual property rights in Pakista and then laws relating to intellectual property are enforced and not publicly flouted.

Source: The News