LEFT: Illegal copies of the then latest DVDs seized by the City Centre police in 2005. These 'bandooloo' DVDs are few of the hundreds that have flooded the streets. RIGHT: Graham of Palace Amusement Company.

Andre Jebbinson, Staff Reporter

With movie piracy on the rise and the latest flicks hitting the streets around the same time they do the cinemas, the Jamaican movie-going public is down 30 per cent, according the Melanie Graham, marketing manager at Palace Amusement Company.

These days, it seems that vendors bartering their illegal merchandise is fair trade. "You would be surprised at some of the people who don't have a problem with piracy. They see it as the big man and the poor little man who is making a living," Graham said.

After persistent appeals to the relevant government ministry and the Organised Crime Investigation Unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Graham said Palace Amusement continues to suffer. The Organised Crime Investigation Unit is responsible for matters concerning copyright infringement. According Detective Sergeant Leroy Falconer, the problem is not unique to Jamaica. He said that while the problem seems commonplace and on the increase, his department is currently working on strategies to combat the problem.

"The various stakeholders have the right to be upset about what is taking place out there ... we will in time get to all of them (illegal vendors)," Detective Sergeant Falconer said.

Workshops

The Organised Crime Unit is working with the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) to eradicate the practice. This involves conducting workshops across the island to sensitise other police officers and the general public to what constitutes an infringement of the Intellectual Property Act and the correct way to deal with it.

But Graham is still peeved about how nonchalant some people are, and is not satisfied with the approach to the problem. And in spite of various campaign to reduce piracy, she fears the full implications are not being conveyed to the public.

That is a sentiment that Donovan, a bootleg movie vendor, can identify with. Amid the hype over the issue, it is ironic that Donovan sees selling pirated movies as an "honest living". He told The Sunday Gleaner that "When notten naah gwaan, yuh haffi try and find something fi duh. Babylon a come after wi but dem (Government) need to work it out so wi can survive. Yuh want know seh man out a commit all sort a crime and a we dem choose fi gi trouble." According to Donovan, there is no harm in trying to provide for himself and his child. Although he did not want to divulge the source of his movies, he finally determined that the practice is not necessarily a fair one. He was, however, adamant that he was trying to do what he can to buy bread.

But in the meantime, the problem remains a very threatening one for Graham. "We need to seriously look at what the future holds. As long as it remains a free- for-all, our number of patrons will continually be reduced," she said.

Palace Amusement has contractual rights to bringing in and exhibiting movies to the public in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Production companies in turn earn approximately 40 per cent of the Jamaican box office. Some movies are, however, purchased outside of a contract from other companies. In those cases, Palace can pay anywhere between US$5,000 and US$20,000 for the movie, depending on its likely success. Added to that expense are operation costs.

"We cannot raise our rates, but other expenses are going up. The cost of security went up and JPS is also going up," Graham said. "We also have employees to pay and they also expect a raise, no matter how small it is."

No sympathy

Marcia McDonnald, director of marketing, Viewer's Choice 2000, a movie rental shop, has no sympathy for the perpetrators. "I wish more could be done, but things like this take time. I think educating the public about piracy is key. People need to know this is wrong, not only those who sell them but also members of the public who buy them. No one unit is going to make it happen, we all have to work together," McDonnald said. "The movie theatre is not the only suffering from it ... movie rental has fallen drastically."

With regards to the right to distributing movies in Jamaica, McDonnald acknowledges that Palace Amusement has the right for cinema. However, she said the issue of rental is a different and more complex one. It is out of the unclear status surrounding the rights to sell or rent DVDs in Jamaica that Caribbean Home Entertainment Ltd. (Carihome) was formed to address the rental and sales of DVDs in Jamaica.

But in the meantime, street vendors and some established rental shops continue to distribute movies illegally. Detective Sergeant Falconer said he has suspicions about some of the rental shops and is relying on intelligence to unearth some more. So far arrests have been made in Manchester, St. James, St. Ann, St. Catherine and the Corporate Area. And while not being able to reveal his exact plan of action, Detective Sergeant Falconer said it will take time to bring the perpetrators to justice.

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