Anti-piracy organizations across the continent have urged African governments to educate people about how piracy destroys the careers of artists and content creators. Software, music, books, and videos, including live sports and the newest series and films, are the types of content that are pirated over the internet most frequently, making streaming piracy perhaps the biggest threat to content owners, broadcasters, and operators.
The demand for TV, movies, entertainment, and music has increased because of the COVID-19 lockdowns, which made many people stay at home and resulted in an increase in creative-content piracy throughout the world.
Film piracy has surged by 40%, according to a recent analysis by Muso, a technology business that offers anti-piracy and market analytics. The report reveals that, compared to the final week of February 2020, before the majority of countries went into lockdown, film piracy increased by 41% in the United States, 43% in the United Kingdom, 50% in Spain, 62% in India, and 66% in Italy while the world was under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Technology has also advanced piracy to the point where it is sophisticated. Intellectual property has long been seen as a special subject reserved for a particular group of people in our communities, both in many African nations and elsewhere in the world. However, everyone benefits from the preservation of intellectual property rights, so we all have a role to play in the battle against piracy.
Some customers might not be aware that downloading their favorite song without paying for it or illegally streaming their favorite shows damages the pockets of musicians and actors due to a lack of information and occasionally challenging socioeconomic conditions. As many people believe, piracy is not a “victimless crime.”
While the significance of copyright laws across Africa cannot be overstated, anti-piracy measures cannot be carried out in a vacuum that ignores the significance of educating consumers about piracy, the various forms it can take, and its impact on economic development and growth in Africa.
For instance, the Kenya Copyright Board conducts numerous projects in Kenya with the goal of raising public awareness, encouraging the enforcement of copyright laws, and advancing education regarding copyright and related rights.
It is essential for individuals who are devoted to stopping piracy to take a proactive consumer-centered approach geared at informing the public, particularly the youth, about how piracy affects the incomes of content creators.
The government should use the resources at its disposal to ensure that the implementation of effective and efficient law enforcement happens in tandem with the process of empowering people so that the law is understood and followed.
Without a doubt, piracy hurts the economy and hinders the capacity of creative professionals to make a living. If allowed to continue, content theft will have a negative impact on trade opportunities, tax income, and investor trust.
Anti-piracy organizations are intensifying efforts across the continent to weed out piracy. Partners Against Piracy, a Pan-African effort to protect the livelihoods of thousands of content creators by educating the public about the risks of piracy and mobilizing stakeholders, is gaining traction.
In order to prevent piracy, important stakeholders like the department of justice and correctional services, businesses, civil society, and NGOs must make sure they produce enough easily readable educational material in the form of workshops, pamphlets, and discussions geared toward various age groups.
Everyone must make sure that local artists are nourished, protected, encouraged, and inspired if African content is to be preserved. One method to achieve this is by banding together as a society to defend their way of life and openly denounce piracy in all its manifestations.