THE Film and Publication Board (FPB) Durban regional office in partnership with the South African Police Services, Serial and Electronic Crime Investigation and South African Federation Against Copyright Theft destroyed more than 50 000 DVDs and CDs seized at various raids conducted by the FPB compliance officers, on Friday. The street value of the seized merchandise is estimated at more than R5-million.
The DVDs were from exhibits of concluded court cases. Raids were conducted by the Durban Compliance Monitoring team at Durban Central, Pietermaritzburg, Pinetown, Port Shepstone, Isipingo and Montclair. Majority of the confiscated material came from the Durban Central area and consisted of a large percentage of Hollywood and local titles and a small percentage of Nollywood, Bollywood and Pornography titles.
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“The destruction process is conducted purely to prevent the confiscated DVDs and CDs in finding their way back to the market. Most of the confiscated material was unclassified and contained pornographic material which was sold on the streets and taxi ranks, which carried the risk of exposing children to harmful material. The impact of illegal distribution of DVDs and CDs is a scourge that negatively impacts on the industry as well as the economy of the country. Piracy peddlers steal intellectual property; they steal revenue due to destitute families by depriving them of royalties. People lose their jobs as more DVD shops close due to poor business,” said Abongile Mashele, FPB’s Acting Chief Operations Officer.
The Films and Publications Act 65 of 1996, as amended (Act) prohibits the distribution of unclassified films and games. The Act further requires the classification decisions to be clearly and conspicuously displayed, the failure of which could render one liable upon prosecution to a period of imprisonment of up to 6 months, a fine or both. The FPB’s partnership with various stakeholders in the industry includes the general public in order to ensure the protection of children against the distribution or viewing of potential harmful, disturbing or inappropriate material.
The FPB conducts outreach and awareness campaigns with the intention to educate the public on, among other things, the significance of age ratings, a process informed by the classification process. The FPB has also developed a training manual that is aimed at informing educators, who will in turn impart knowledge to the learners. By engaging in these efforts the ultimate aim of the FPB is to create a self regulating society that understands the impact of illegal distribution on the society and the country at large.
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