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cassettes seized in biggest ever pirated music
bust
the enforcement of new ipr laws took a highly
publicized step forward in june with the biggest bust of pirated
music tapes in the history of the middle east. on june 9, giza security
officers seized around 2 million counterfeit arabic-language music
cassettes, representing 36 different registered trademarks, in a
raid in al ayyat farm, just south of giza. according to reports,
authorities also confiscated one million plastic tape jackets, six
duplication machines and two printing machines, while one person
was arrested at the scene.
“the egyptian authorities are now showing they take the protection
of intellectual property rights seriously, and are committed to
the fight against music piracy,” commented ahmed al fouly,
head of the egypt office of the international federation for the
phonographic industry (ifpi), an anti-piracy organization representing
multinational recording companies. the police, in fact, coordinated
the raid in conjunction with the ifpi, along with the egyptian central
association of audio producers.
according to statistics, the illegal copying of audio or video recordings
is a $4 billion per annum business, globally speaking. ifpi figures
indicate that in 2002, the egyptian music industry alone lost $8.2
million due to piracy.
the middle east in particular has often been criticized for poor
copyright protection. egypt currently resides on the us government’s
piracy “watch list,” as around 50 percent of its local
music sales are of the pirated variety. in some other countries
in the region, the problem is even worse. in lebanon, some 70 percent
of music sales are reportedly pirated.
the multinationals, until now, simply haven’t been able to
vie with the parallel market. “we cannot compete with the pirates,”
said ahmed marei, former managing director of sony music egypt,
which closed its cairo office in september after only 10 months
in operation. according to marei, sony found it impossible to survive
in a market dominated by piracy, which vastly undercut sales of
both arab and western music. “we were losing tremendously,”
marei noted. “thirty to 40 percent of our budget went to marketing
costs, whereas in the piracy business, it’s profit all the
way.”
in an attempt to make the environment more multinational-friendly,
the government passed intellectual property rights (ipr) legislation
in june 2002. the four-chapter law protects original works of literature
and arts in a way that will “usher in a new era of strict enforcement
of copyright, leading to deterrent results against piracy, lowering
piracy levels and... resulting in commercial gains,” according
to a recent report by the international intellectual property alliance,
a us-based organization monitoring copyright infringements.
marei was not so sure. calling the current state of the local music
industry “a catastrophe,” he said that unless authorities
strictly enforce the new law, international recording labels will
continue to steer clear of the region. “three conglomerates
– universal, emi and warner – were planning to launch
in cairo,” he said. “but now they’ve changed their
minds.”
perhaps the latest show of force will persuade them to reconsider,
but in the meantime, the black music market will probably prove
as resilient as other black markets in recent memory.
after all, for most lower income egyptians, recorded music is a
luxury they wouldn’t be able to afford if forced to pay commercial
prices. currently, pirated versions of albums by artists like amr
diab, sherine or hakim – often of substandard quality –
are easily available for around £e 2.50 each, as opposed to
£e 10 for an authentic, commercial copy. “all i care
about is hearing the songs on the tape,” said adel el dessouki,
a 42-year-old taxi driver. “i don’t care if they’re
unauthorized as long as i get the same tape for only £e 2.50.”
the selling of pirated cassettes has been going on since long before
anyone ever heard of ipr, and the practice thrived in the lax legal
environment. but even as enforceable laws come into effect, vendors
of pirated material maintain they’re not doing anything wrong.
“pirated tapes have been in the egyptian market for years now.
we never felt that this business is illegal and we were never arrested,”
said one dokki vendor of pirated music. “we do not cheat people.
they know perfectly well that they buy pirated tapes at cheaper
prices.”
a source at the giza police department, meanwhile, said the case
pertaining to the raid has already been forwarded to the prosecutor’s
office, and a committee at the censorship department is examining
the seized merchandise in preparation for impending hearings.
lina atallah and summer said
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