Cracking down on copyright pirates is most certainly welcome; some may argue that its been too long in the coming. Allowing blatant copyright violations to occur on our shores creates a mental problem among Malaysians: its ok to steal. That's what pirated VCDs, DVDs, CDs are - acts of theft from their legitimate copyright owners.
While the manufacturers of these discs are at fault, the consumer is also at fault for creating the demand. The first half of the equation is being dealt with via "Ops Benteras":http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2003/6/5/nation/05vcd&sec=nation:
bq. KUALA LUMPUR: A massive operation to wipe out the sale, production and manufacture of pirated and pornographic VCDs was launched simultaneously last night in several parts of the Klang Valley.
bq. The raids, codenamed Ops Benteras and involving some 800 police personnel, saw the first strike against two outlets in Cheras, netting more than 200,000 pirated and pornographic VCDs.
bq. At press time, more than 40 teams comprising policemen from Bukit Aman and district headquarters were on the streets targeting entertainment outlets, street peddlers, video arcades and even drug haunts.
Its the second half of the equation, and how the government plans to tackle it that worries me. They plan "to come into our homes":http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2003/6/7/nation/odchor&sec=nation without a search warrant. Such a scenario "would be a disaster":http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/200306050034559.php. The threat against our privacy is in itself an infringement of privacy. And, worse yet, who is to say that such a mandate given to the police will not be abused for political gain, especially with the general elections just around the corner.
As expected, "many have raised concerns":http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&edition=usa&q=+raid+private+homes+for+pornographic&btnG=Search+News about the latest move in the campagin against piracy and porn. But "this particular perspective":http://www.emedia.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/National/20030608090301/Article/ strikes my interest:
bq. DAP publicity bureau secretary Gobind Singh Deo said the authorities should be careful in the crackdown as possession of pirated copies of non-obscene VCDs for domestic and private use might not amount to an offence under the Copyright Act 1987.
bq. "As it is not an offence, they may not have the powers under the Copyright Act to raid premises for such purposes under Section 44 of the Act," said Gobind, who is a lawyer.
bq. Under a provision in Section 44 of the Copyright Act, authorities have the power to raid premises without a warrant if there is reasonable ground that a delay in obtaining the warrant would cause pirated materials to be removed or destroyed.
bq. Gobind said it would appear, given the way in which Section 41(1)(d) of the Copyright Act was worded, that possession of pirated, non-obscene VCDs for an individual's private and domestic use, was not an offence.
bq. Possession of pornographic material is an offence under the Films (Censorship) Act 1952, and a film inspector or policeman not below the rank of assistant superintendent does not need a search warrant to raid and seize such materials.
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