21 - 27 June 2001
Issue No.539
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 21 - 27 June 2001 Issue No.539 |
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High-tech transgressions
A booming business in smuggled movies and books works in favour of Egyptian consumers but against Egyptian creators. Soha Abdelaty investigates
Want to watch the latest uncensored movie? Better yet, want to watch a film that is blacklisted and will never hit the movie theatres? For LE5 you can rent a DVD (digital video disc) from a place as unassuming as your neighbourhood Internet café. For LE10 you can buy it, then resell it if you choose to. And for no charge at all, you can use your computer's hard disc to copy what you want with the help of a friend.
The piracy of foreign movies on DVD, the latest pop culture trend to hit Egypt, prospers in spite of a 1954 law that protects copyrighted goods. And such piracy seems likely to continue even if the draft law on intellectual property rights is passed. According to an Internet café manager who also deals in pirated DVDs in the affluent neighbourhood of Mohandessin, "People bring in DVDs and then copy them onto lower quality CDs so that any user can operate it on his computer." This is an increasing threat to intellectual property rights because "the cost of the DVD player, usually installed in a computer, and the cost of DVDs have started decreasing. And more and more people are starting to own computers."
Those profiting from this illegal business point out that legislation is far from enough to curb their activities. "Awareness of DVDs is low amongst inspection teams. They concentrate more of their efforts on pirated software," says the café manager. (see related article)
But the problem of DVDs smuggled into the country is only one side of the coin. On the other are Egyptian films that are smuggled out of the country. "In the past few years, the profession of publication and the movement of creation and innovation in the Arab world has been hit by a dangerous plague -- piracy. [Piracy of Egyptian works] has increased, and spread, threatening our very existence," warns Ibrahim El-Moallem, chairman of Dar Al-Shorouq publishing house and president of both the Egyptian and Arab Publishers Unions.
Some argue that an end to piracy would actually act as a catalyst to Egyptian creativity. "Intellectual property protection provides fuel for the engine of innovation," states Karim El-Helaly, a lawyer at the legal firm of Zaki Hashem and Partners.
Seen from that perspective, it seems logical that Egyptian authors, publishers, actors and screenwriters would applaud the new law. After all, it purports to guarantee worldwide protection for the fruits of their efforts. Many, however, remain sceptical of the draft law.
(illustration: George Bahgory)
Some criticise the draft law for distributing rights unequally. According to Mohamed Ramzy, chairman of El-Nasr Films, a distribution and production company, the draft law "appears on the surface to be economic protection for production. However, in reality, it is a huge mistake. They want to give shares to all those who contributed to the movie: the author, the actor, the director, etc. This is wrong," claims Ramzy. He adds that the various contributors should be given either a share in the profits of the movie or a wage. Ultimately, Ramzy says, the decision should be left to the parties involved.
Madkour Thabet, head of the Authority for Inspection of Artistic Works, acknowledges this flaw in the draft law. "This problem is not particular to Egypt. It is an international issue that reflects the contradiction between the capitalists that fund productions on the one hand and the artists that contribute to these productions on the other."
On the macroeconomic level, Gamal El-Ghitani, editor-in-chief of the cultural weekly Akhbar Al-Adab and the author of many books that have been subjected to piracy, argues that the draft law will benefit Western countries much more than Egypt. "Egypt and developing countries depend to a great extent on translating Western books. The same cannot be said about Western translation of Arabic books," he says. "Because there has been a great decline in the distribution of books -- since people have stopped reading -- what can we expect to happen? If a person does not read now, when translation is conducted without the umbrella of rights in many countries, what will happen when the extra cost of paying off copyrights is added to the cost of the book?"
From a legal perspective, some critics argue that the draft law lacks fundamental elements, namely provisions that are required by Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). For example, El-Helaly argues that the new law, in the section that explains all relevant terminology, neglects to define phonograms and the producers of phonograms. Also, the draft law does not deal with the issue of piracy on the Internet. Finally, El-Helaly criticises the draft law for its compensation mechanisms, which he claims are "inadequate."
However, the central argument made by many relates to the law's implementation. "The existing laws were not advanced enough and were not compatible with the advancements that were happening in science and technology. It [the draft law] is important, necessary and late. The draft will add a lot if passed [and] if there are practical and effective implementation mechanisms," says El-Moallem doubtfully. For his part, Ramzy points out: "The prosecutors and judges do not appreciate the matter, nor do they understand the nature of our work. They need intensive training, specialised in this area. They cannot imagine what it means to steal a video cassette."
Ramzy further argues that protecting Egyptian movies abroad is not a high priority for government officials. "I have not heard of any top-level official visiting any country, even Arab countries, to make a deal to protect our movies," Ramzy complains. "In all of our embassies we need to have a cultural attaché to act as our eye abroad, to tell us what to do and how to protect our rights."
At the end of the day, as far as El-Moallem is concerned, "Society must be convinced that the person who violates the rights of an author is a criminal. If society does not realise this, then there is no use."
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