28 Mar 2023

With the creative content piracy seemingly rising in the country, MultiChoice Botswana has received power of attorney and will soon be performing raids, as part of the fight against buccaneering.

By definition, piracy is ‘the unauthorised duplication of copyrighted content that is then sold at substantially lower prices in the ‘grey’ market.’

Content piracy has been reported to have risen in Botswana since the start of COVID-19 lockdowns, which forced many people to stay home, resulting in outpouring demand for TV and film entertainment.

Addressing the media at the anti-piracy sensitisation forum recently, MultiChoice Botswana managing director, Stephanie Pillay said their aim was to lead the industry in curbing piracy.

“We want to ensure that the country’s economy is well protected, thus making the first steps towards achieving that by bringing Batswana local content to their screens and in due time things will be settled,” Pillay said.

She therefore encouraged Batswana to support local in every way possible so that the entertainment industry could be revived and empowered to produce quality content that would appeal to all consumers and in turn eliminate piracy.

In his presentation, broadcasting/cyber security anti-piracy director, Frikkie Jonker stated that piracy negatively affected the everyday lives of the nation way more than can be imagined.

“There is high cost in trying to fight piracy through the police and tax is not returned, which means the economy is bruised and investment opportunities are lost due to bad reputation brought about by piracy,” Jonker said.

He added that piracy came in different forms, which included cable, grey market, cross border, commercial, re-broadcasting as well as counterfeiting.

“In order to fight piracy there are a few actions that could be taken including anti-piracy training for all citizens through enforcement agencies such as the police and the army, enforcement actions such as raids and monitoring facilities, anti-piracy marketing and PR through the printed press and obtaining and maintaining international support,” he said.

A representative from Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA), under compliance and enforcement office, Tseba Seakarea said their organisation was reviewing Industrial Property Act as well as the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Acts in an effort to cater for all industries and protect trademarks and ultimately eliminate piracy. ENDS