Information from official police sources communicated to the press disclosed that, in the first six months of this year, the Economic Crimes Unit carried out 119 raids and seized 19,839 DVDs, 1,524 PlayStation games and 3,980 audio CDs, among other items.
On the same day that this information was published, the police had seized 293 pirate DVDs during another raid.
Although the police Economic Crimes Unit has significantly stepped up its activity, copyright theft is a thriving industry in Malta.
The laws against piracy and copyright theft are on the statute book. The police conduct routine sweeps in the market, and the Courts keep the mills of justice grinding. It looks as if the whole set-up is no match for the pirates, who are undeterred and full of resilience.
KRS Film Distributors claim that a stage has been reached where cinema admissions have fallen by almost a quarter in the past year, crippling the cinema industry. This year, there has been a 22 per cent drop in cinema attendances – and this has been attributed in large measure to rampant piracy.
Questions
Who are the pirates? From where do they operate? Are the police missing the wood for the trees?
Where is the equipment for the production of DVDs and other paraphernalia located? Is the income of the piracy industry so big that it can afford the losses from seizures by the police, without batting an eyelid?
Is the seriousness of the crime reflected in court sentences? And is the law, as it now stands, enough of a deterrent to law-breakers, when their pickings are so massive?
We have evidence of the web, but where is the faceless spider? Are we dealing with the labyrinth of a foreign organisation operating through contraband channels?
Tip of the iceberg?
All, or most, of these questions are investigative. A few are speculative. The stubborn nature of reality demands satisfactory or, at least, helpful answers. Public opinion demands reassuring results.
Why is it that, in spite of many police raids and seizures, we never hear of the seizure of the equipment and apparatus for the production of pirate films and DVDs?
Do the Courts impose the maximum punishment when repeat offenders are involved?
And, although the Economic Crimes Unit, has given a good account of itself during the past six months, has it really got a real grip on the prevailing situation in Malta, or has it been looking at the tip of the iceberg?
International dimension
Piracy, and its links to organised crime, is increasingly being taken seriously at the highest levels. There have been reports that the need to reduce piracy and counterfeiting, through more effective enforcement, featured on the agenda of the recent G8 Summit in Gleneagles.
There is recognition – on paper – that effective intellectual property agreements can contribute to sustainable growth for all countries.
Among the concrete steps proposed at Gleneagles was the need to shore-up legislation and upgrade coordination of anti-piracy crime strategies.
Before we reach out for solutions in Malta, we still have to get to the bottom of our problem and establish the facts and their real scale.
Who is responsible for overall policy in this regard? Why has it been impossible to nip the crime of copyright theft in the bud?
Has there been sufficient appreciation in high circles that piracy has the potential to give Malta a bad name world-wide, with all the grave economic implications that this would imply?
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