Nigerians Looking To Crack Down On Movie Piracy, Despite Thriving Nollywood Movie Industry
from the missing-the-point dept
One thing that’s common as you look through the history of intellectual property law is how stronger IP laws almost inevitably lag increases in creative or inventive output. Of course, this flies in the face of everything that we’re told about intellectual property law, about how it’s necessary to incentivize such creativity or inventiveness. In fact, if that were the case, we wouldn’t see such creativity showing up in places with very lax or non-existent laws. And yet, time and time again we do. For example, we’ve highlighted how the movie industries in Nigeria, China and India are thriving, despite very lax laws and enforcement. In fact, with Nigeria, we’ve discussed how widespread “piracy” was a large part of what helped “Nollywood” succeed.
So what’s happening now? Once again, after this explosive outgrowth in creativity, then people look to put in place these laws. Loricnet points us to the news that in Lagos, Nigeria, officials have been looking at technological solutions to “deal with” the issue of infringement. Officials are reviewing five separate technologies, and the “winner” will be rolled out for use by city officials. At least some of the solutions on the “short list” appear to be focused on providing new business models and greater sharing, rather than using technology to “block” certain activities, but some of them appear to be the same old DRM.
I’m not sure why politicians are getting involved here, but it really does highlight how, once again, intellectual property law is not about incentivizing creation (that already happened without it), but rather about protectionism for those already there. It’s the same thing we’ve seen in the past. After there’s an outburst of creativity, those who were there first don’t want new competitors, and they run to the government for greater protectionism against competition, and the preferred tools: greater IP laws and greater IP enforcement. Sad to see the same thing happening yet again.
Comments on “Nigerians Looking To Crack Down On Movie Piracy, Despite Thriving Nollywood Movie Industry”
A flourishing industry how can that happen?
There is zero enforcement in Nigeria, zero capabilities to enforce imaginary property, piracy is rampant and an entire industry flourished despite of it?
That is ludicrous, it can’t happen nowhere.
Maybe the copycrazy people now can claim that enforcement cubs real sea piracy if those pirates turn to bootlegging instead LoL
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Can’t happen? You are entitled to your own opinion, AC, but you’re not entitled to your own facts.
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Think you failed your “Spot Sarcasm” check there. Certainly either you or I need a detector overhaul and I think mine’s working just fine…..
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I read that first post three times.
I can’t figure out if it is sarcastic or not.
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Ditto. My reply was either ‘playing along’ or ‘calling out’… delete as appropriate 🙂
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The facts where paid for, so I’m entitled to my own facts, see the researches done by my brothers in the MPAA and RIAA, of course they are bogus but who cares, I paid for them, may as well use it 🙂
Free facts are from the thieves that want everything to be free, if you want your own facts go buy them don’t still facts from others.
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*steal
Logical really
If you can use already existing content to create new content without paying license fees then the barriers to create new stuff and make money off it are much lower and so more people do it. Seems obvious to me.
I’m not saying I don’t think that copyright can’t “incentivise” too if done correctly (after all a better chance of being paid at least for a while is almost certainly an incentive), but it strikes me that the “derivative works” portion of copyright especially in the massively broad definition it exists in UK/US now is a blatantly obvious disincentive to creation.
Why does copyright seem to allow you to “own” an idea when, for example, patent doesn’t?
Good Options
Well there is (at least) one good option in there – let’s hope they choose it!
I think they see the finical shake down success of the MPAA and RIAA.
Soon you inbox will be filled with threates like….
We know you are pirate and will be taking you to court to sue you for $50,000. Or you can settle now quickly for $2500.
As our banking system is having problems we will also need your help to transfer this money. You can get a 10% discount if you supply us with your SIN, bank account and pin number, and mother’s maiden name.
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Except then the **AA will probably sue for patent infringement on the business model. You are allowed to patent business process now aren’t you? It’s the one they seem to use so I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d patented it….
Other problems...
I can think of at least 419 other problems that Nigeria needs to take care of. But they won’t. There’s no money in it.