Tape piracy highly illegal

Press, 9 November 1984, Page 28

Tape piracy highly illegal

Piracy is not dead,

But the colourful, swashbuckling villains of yesteryear are more likely to be quiet, unobtrusive, and, sometimes, unaware citizens who do their pirating in the comfort of their own home.

The advent of modern technology has brought its advantages, but also problems, where copyright and right of ownership are concerned.

This is particularly so in the field of video, where anyone who owns a video machine can either deliberately, or through ignorance of the law, abuse the system.

' Piracy is the accepted term for the unauthorised copying of material from any source on to videotape and selling, swapping, hiring or letting, or showing that material in public. Owners of machines may copy material for their own use but once it is offered to a third person, in any shape or form, it becomes illegal. That also includes swapping of copies, so people are forbidden by law to exchange cassettes.

The name of the copyright holder is clearly displayed on all tapes sold or hired, and they are the owners of that material. , Therefore, piracy is basically theft.

Boiled down to practical terms, it means that owners are free to record television programmes, for example, in their homes. These can be watched in their home, and of course they may invite anyone to watch the programmes with them. But that is where the copy must stop.

It must not be offered to anyone else, nor may it be shown to groups outside the home.

Piracy is more far reaching than is often thought. To take the example of a pirate copy being used to

replace the legitimate one hired from a video library: The original one has been purchased dr leased by the library owner so he is theftvictim number one. The next victim is the second hirer of the movie, because since pirate copies get progressively worse in quality, he is receiving less than his money’s worth. The library owner will have to replace the pirate copy and loses further revenue from possible hires in the meantime.

His overheads are also increased, resulting in an increase in charges to all members.

In the meantime, he may have lost the goodwill of hirer number two, who quite rightly has a complaint about the quality of the pirate copy he received. The distributor, who owns the copyright, has also been deprived of revenue, and may in turn put his charges up.

Where multiple copies of a movie are involved the losses can be enormous, and everyone in the cycle, from production to viewer, is affected.

The average retail price of a pre-recorded tape is more than $l5O. This is made up of the costs of copyright fees, import charges and taxes, sales tax, tape, distributors overheads, freight, packaging and handling. The only people who benefit from piracy are the suppliers of blank tapes, and the pirate.

People who suspect they have been offered a pirate copy of a movie or programme should discuss the matter with their local retailer, or contact the Video Association of New Zealand Inc., address P.O. Box 924, Wellington.

They will notify the copyright holder who will take the appropriate action. (From “Video View” magazine.)