South Africa’s Department of Justice has convened a special meeting at MultiChoice South Africa’s offices under the sponsorships of Partners Against Piracy (PAP), in a concentrated effort to combat content piracy,
At the meeting, PAP and the South African Government unveiled a new cooperation agreement through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU aims to foster collaboration in capacity building, benchmarking, intellectual property rights protection, and training within the legal framework.
Advocate Doctor Mashabane, Director General of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD), stressed the government’s commitment to protecting the creative industry from piracy, which drains billions of rands from South Africa’s economy annually.
The South African Cybercrimes Act of 2020 provides law enforcement agencies with the authority to combat piracy with stringent measures. PAP, launched in 2018 across several African countries, including South Africa in 2022, is spearheaded by the Copyright Coalition, advocating for content creators’ rights and legislative reforms.
CEO of MultiChoice South Africa, Marc Jury, reiterated the company’s commitment to promoting legitimate content consumption and supporting the creative industry amidst its evolution into a diversified platform business.
Partnering in the fight against piracy, technology security company, Irdeto, also brought its extensive expertise to the table. Chairperson of the Copyright Coalition of South Africa, Chola Makgamathe, applauded the collaborative efforts of PAP, Irdeto, and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development in safeguarding South Africa’s creative industries and fostering an environment conducive to innovation and investment.
The renewed partnership aims to escalate efforts in combating piracy, building upon Irdeto’s successes in apprehending ring leaders of organised crime, as evidenced by convictions in 2022.
Piracy poses significant challenges to content creators and the economy, with millions of visits to piracy sites recorded across major African territories. The impact extends across various sectors, including music, literature, video content, and software.
Source: APO Group
By Derrick Kafui Deti – Digital Economy Magazine
