Illegal market flourishes despite concerted efforts

[Nasturtium 500]

Illegal market flourishes despite concerted efforts

By Taylor Luck

AMMAN - Downtown is often an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) activist’s nightmare. With scores of customers frequenting shops, kiosks and even street vendors peddling the latest releases in movies, video games and software, it would seem that few Amman residents respect the Kingdom’s Copyright Law.

A popular item for street merchants in east Amman is video games, which are often subject to high taxes and customs duties. Children crowd around the street stalls, which offer illegally pirated versions of best-selling games at between JD3 and JD5 a copy.

Nine-year-old Mohammad said that he and his five siblings pooled together their pocket money to buy a used game console, but soon found they could not afford to purchase video games from stores.

“I went to one store and saw them selling for JD30 to JD40,” he noted, adding that he now goes downtown every Friday to find the latest games.

In an adjacent stand, software discs are displayed on the sidewalk for sale. The two most consistent sellers are TOEFL and Tawjihi study guides as well as graphic design applications, according to 40-year-old merchant Ahmad Mustafa.

“University students come here because they cannot afford to purchase them from stores… JD50 for a CD? For shame,” he said, adding that many business professionals browse his wares for the latest software applications.

Bassam, a 34-year-old engineer, said he purchases his company’s needs either from shops on Gardens Street or at kiosks downtown out of necessity, not callous disregard for the law.

“The prices software companies place on their products is extreme. How can we afford to start a company when we have to pay JD2,000 just for the software?” he remarked, adding that software costs are more than three months’ rent for his architecture graphic design studio.

Television serials are another hot-selling item.

Khalil, 22, works at his family’s DVD kiosk, which boldly displays its name on its two-storied structure.

For JD4 one can purchase a season of television shows from the US or Europe, all DVD quality, he boasted. Offering movies at JD1 per disc, his family’s business has been so successful that it has opened branches in more affluent Amman neighbourhoods.

The shop owner said that although his kiosk has been in operation for several years, he has faced no problems with the authorities.

“They don’t care. Some of them are my best customers,” he claimed.

According to National Library Department (NLD) Director Mamoun Talhouni, the open market for merchants dealing in pirated goods is coming to an end.

“We have referred all of these stalls to the courts numerous times, confiscated thousands of discs and levied fines on them. If they say business is good, they are lying,” Talhouni told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

With NLD personnel inspecting kiosks and the Kingdom’s courts imposing stiffer fines and penalties against violators, all that is left to put an end to the industry is closures, he said.

Under Article 36 of the Jordanian Copyright Law, the minister of culture has the authority to close down shops and institutions breaching IPR.

But the most active agent in shutting down violators is the court, which is authorised to shut down any violator’s business under the law.

“We have requested the courts to close down the shops, and we are currently awaiting decisions regarding several cases,” Talhouni said, pointing out that some stores have been referred to the court three times.

The Kingdom’s courts, however, face several obstacles in closing down these businesses, according to Amman Court of First Instance Judge Nehad Hussban.

“The court cannot just instantaneously close down a shop because a complaint was received,” Hussban told The Jordan Times yesterday, adding that several elements slow down the court’s ability to process such cases.

For example, many plaintiffs fail to follow up on their complaints, leaving the court with little evidence to bring against vendors, she said.

Even when authorities such as the NLD confiscate thousands of pieces of merchandise and present them as evidence, the court must prove that the items are indeed pirated, Hussban noted.

“The court usually resorts to having experts inspect the discs to verify whether they are legal or not, which is a long process,” she said.

Even when a violation of the Copyright Law is proven in court, it is then up to the judge’s discretion as to what penalty to hand down based on the size of the infraction, the judge said.

She also noted that although there are several parties working to bring such violations to light, their work is disjointed, which takes the court even more time in processing the cases.

“Institutions such as the National Library and the Customs Department need to work under one umbrella so we can speed up the judicial process,” she said, adding that it could take several months to issue a verdict and carry it through.

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the court is the sheer volume of infractions, according to Hussban, who said that with each new case several more arise.

“It is a flourishing market, so it is not easy to control,” Hussban acknowledged.

Khalil agreed.

“We’re the only business that hasn’t been hurt by the rise in prices. People just keep coming,” he added.

source

These things were everywhere. I remember us seeing things like Batman Begins from buyig form one of these places.. 2JD, the day after release in the USA

[mybackpages 0]

These things were everywhere. I remember us seeing things like Batman Begins from buyig form one of these places.. 2JD, the day after release in the USA

Bootleg copies of films are all over Morocco too. My understanding is that very little attention is paid to this by officials.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

In Egypt I've seen in the internet cafes that ppl subscribe to websites that they can download movies off of without paying a subscription. Also ppl have access to books that are copied and rebound but not the originals from the publisher and they pay a discounted price for the same material.

[S and S 12]

I gave my husband a long speech about how that is stealing. He was always trying to get me to take the copied cheap versions and I kept refusing. My husband hates stealing, but I had to really explain why it is because he had seen nothing wrong with it. I told him that movie and song producers spend a lot of money making these items. In the west we pay a lot for them so those companies can make their money back and a profit which encourages them to make more. If everyone in the middle east just buys illegal copies, the companies make no money from it, so that means Americans and other countries must shoulder the full cost. It could be cheaper for us if other parts of the world paid for the originals. Now of course the prices of an original DVD in Jordan are crazy. They could pay $80 or $100 for a DVD we only pay $20 or less for. How can anyone in Jordan afford that so of course it drives them to buy the copies. I understand that. I just refuse to do it so long as I have the means to pay for an original. Sometimes I can't buy a DVD because I"m short on cash so then I wait until I do have the money.

I think what these companies need to do is adjust prices in each country according to what the people can afford to pay. I am sure there is a way to profit from it and then it will stop most of the black market copies. People prefer originals, but if they can't afford them they will turn to cheap copies. Its a simple matter of supply and demand (and ability to pay).

[Nasturtium 500]

I was trying to explain to my husband how, exactly, they get their copies of movies the day after the are released in theatres here and he refuses to believe me that they are from someone recording a movie from inside the theatre. I have no idea WHY they is so hard for him to believe that THAT is bootlegging. He kept insisting they were copied off the DVDs from the US and I was trying to explain to him we don't release movies for home release for a few months after theatre release-- so that's not possible. Even now those movie trailers confuse the heck out of him. He keeps asking me if we can go rent something that has a trailer saying it was coming out, say, July 15th and I say, a bazillion times over, that is IN THE THEATRE. Sigh.

[S and S 12]

I was trying to explain to my husband how, exactly, they get their copies of movies the day after the are released in theatres here and he refuses to believe me that they are from someone recording a movie from inside the theatre. I have no idea WHY they is so hard for him to believe that THAT is bootlegging. He kept insisting they were copied off the DVDs from the US and I was trying to explain to him we don't release movies for home release for a few months after theatre release-- so that's not possible. Even now those movie trailers confuse the heck out of him. He keeps asking me if we can go rent something that has a trailer saying it was coming out, say, July 15th and I say, a bazillion times over, that is IN THE THEATRE. Sigh.

lol, some things take time

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I was just to myself thinking of Robin Hood's theme: "Rob from the rich and give to the poor."

[Nasturtium 500]

I was trying to explain to my husband how, exactly, they get their copies of movies the day after the are released in theatres here and he refuses to believe me that they are from someone recording a movie from inside the theatre. I have no idea WHY that is so hard for him to believe that THAT is bootlegging. He kept insisting they were copied off the DVDs from the US and I was trying to explain to him we don't release movies for home release for a few months after theatre release-- so that's not possible. Even now those movie trailers confuse the heck out of him. He keeps asking me if we can go rent something that has a trailer saying it was coming out, say, July 15th and I say, a bazillion times over, that is IN THE THEATRE. Sigh.

lol, some things take time

LOL, whoops, I was ranting!

[S and S 12]

I was trying to explain to my husband how, exactly, they get their copies of movies the day after the are released in theatres here and he refuses to believe me that they are from someone recording a movie from inside the theatre. I have no idea WHY that is so hard for him to believe that THAT is bootlegging. He kept insisting they were copied off the DVDs from the US and I was trying to explain to him we don't release movies for home release for a few months after theatre release-- so that's not possible. Even now those movie trailers confuse the heck out of him. He keeps asking me if we can go rent something that has a trailer saying it was coming out, say, July 15th and I say, a bazillion times over, that is IN THE THEATRE. Sigh.

lol, some things take time

LOL, whoops, I was ranting!

lol, I really do understand. It is funny, I look forward to Friday nights so I can stay up with the night crew. It is bad when I stay up late on the weekdays since I have to be awake at 5:30am. Are we close to Caturday yet?

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Very close to Caturday now. Whose going to start the thread?

[Nasturtium 500]

Did it!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

[Nothing1234 2]

I was trying to explain to my husband how, exactly, they get their copies of movies the day after the are released in theatres here and he refuses to believe me that they are from someone recording a movie from inside the theatre. I have no idea WHY they is so hard for him to believe that THAT is bootlegging. He kept insisting they were copied off the DVDs from the US and I was trying to explain to him we don't release movies for home release for a few months after theatre release-- so that's not possible. Even now those movie trailers confuse the heck out of him. He keeps asking me if we can go rent something that has a trailer saying it was coming out, say, July 15th and I say, a bazillion times over, that is IN THE THEATRE. Sigh.

Julianna...actually...your hubby is RIGHT! They do have sites you can download DVD quality movies from within a week or two of release...Olivia mentioned them...not the really crappy movies you see that you can hear the audience coughing in the theatre but these are from the DVD's actually....its amazing. You can get a high quality copy within a week or a few from release on these sites online. It's illegal here but not overseas (well not monitored). Besides...who's to say its stealing? LOL Perhaps movies makers are stealing our money charging us so much to see many of those crappy movies out there now!

[Nasturtium 500]

Julianna...actually...your hubby is RIGHT! They do have sites you can download DVD quality movies from within a week or two of release...Olivia mentioned them...not the really crappy movies you see that you can hear the audience coughing in the theatre but these are from the DVD's actually....its amazing. You can get a high quality copy within a week or a few from release on these sites online. It's illegal here but not overseas (well not monitored). Besides...who's to say its stealing? LOL Perhaps movies makers are stealing our money charging us so much to see many of those crappy movies out there now!

But that's not burning it off of a legal DVD which is what he was saying, those are bootlegs from the pre-screenings that are done by movie theater employees and such before the public even gets in there... I used to know people who did this. then they encode it and post it for download, etc. It's still bootlegging. Also, the majority of these things in Jordan are made in Syria where it's not illegal for them as they don't care what international copyright law is

[S and S 12]

Julianna...actually...your hubby is RIGHT! They do have sites you can download DVD quality movies from within a week or two of release...Olivia mentioned them...not the really crappy movies you see that you can hear the audience coughing in the theatre but these are from the DVD's actually....its amazing. You can get a high quality copy within a week or a few from release on these sites online. It's illegal here but not overseas (well not monitored). Besides...who's to say its stealing? LOL Perhaps movies makers are stealing our money charging us so much to see many of those crappy movies out there now!

But that's not burning it off of a legal DVD which is what he was saying, those are bootlegs from the pre-screenings that are done by movie theater employees and such before the public even gets in there... I used to know people who did this. then they encode it and post it for download, etc. It's still bootlegging. Also, the majority of these things in Jordan are made in Syria where it's not illegal for them as they don't care what international copyright law is

Yeah, I definitely saw them openly selling copied DVDs in Syria right on the street everywhere.