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PRESS RELEASE: FAVIA hosts copyright seminar for enforcers (1 Viewer)

Yumbo

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Chris Caine
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FAVIA hosts copyright seminar for enforcers


29th August, 2006, Suva, Fiji Islands - The Fiji Audio Visual Association (FAVIA) will be hosting in Suva the Fiji Copyright Law Enforcement Seminar.

The 3-day seminar will be held from Wednesday 30th August to Friday, 1st September 2006, for members of the Fiji Police Force and other enforcement agents.

The President of FAVIA, Mr Hari Ram, said the seminar will focus on copyright legislation in Fiji; impact of piracy on the audio visual industry, Government and consumers; production and distribution methods used by piracy agents; how to spot pirated items and how to successfully prosecute offenders.

“Our goal for this seminar is to equip the Police Force and other enforcement agencies with the necessary tools and knowledge to help them enforce the Copyright laws in Fiji,” said Mr Ram.

The guest speaker for the seminar is Mr Stephen Howes, a specialist in the enforcement of Copyright law and who has assisted in the enforcement of Copyright laws in many countries including Australia.

Mr Howes will be conducting the training sessions over the next 3 days for the police officers and enforcement agents.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes, will be opening the seminar at 9am at the Fiji Police Academy, Nasese, Suva.

Other guest speakers include Mr Taniela Bolea, Chief Executive Officer for the Fiji Audio Visual Commission; Mr Mesake Nawari, Group Chief Executive Officer for Fiji TV and Mr Ravin Patel, Managing Director for SPR.

The seminar will end on Friday, 1st September, 2006.

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For more information, please log onto: www.ifiji.com/favia/

ABOUT FAVIA
The Fiji Audio Visual Association was set up in July 2006 to promote the protection of intellectual property and raise awareness on copyright issues in Fiji. Association members include Fiji Television, SPR, Video Ezy, IMDVD, Damodar Brothers, JK Singh Video Library, Rowell Entertainment, TFL, Video World, Eros Pacific, Forum Films. Office bearers are: President - Hari Ram; Secretary - Chris Caine; and Treasurer - Uday Singh.
 

Yumbo

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 13, 1999
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Chris Caine
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release

PIRACY A SCOURGE ON FIJI SOCIETY


31st August, 2006, Suva, Fiji Islands - The Fiji Audio Visual Industry Association (FAVIA) is now in its 2nd day of the Fiji Copyright Law Enforcement Seminar which is being held at the Police Academy at Nasese in Suva.

The Seminar was opened yesterday by Police Commissioner, Andrew Hughes, who in his opening remarks said that “Policing is not about the numbers but about the skills. Policing is not just the constable on the beat but much more needs to be done for the police to be equipped to deal with these crimes”.

FAVC CEO, Mr. Dan Bolea addressed the participants and told them how piracy negatively affects Fiji as a film making location. He also expressed his support for FAVIA in taking the initiative by, “taking the bull by the horns in tackling the scourge called piracy.”

The participants also heard from SPR Boss, Ravindra Patel.
Patel said, “In Fiji there is 99% piracy which is probably the largest percentage in the world.”

“The speed of the pirate network is so efficient, that Fiji is up there with the rest of the world when it comes to adoption of these illegal networks”.

SPR has the largest chain of established video stores in Fiji and has severely been affected by copyright infringers that they have had to close 6 of their 14 outlets in the past 2 years, with a further 5 on the verge of closing. He urges all parties involved to act on this problem rather than just talking about it.

Mr. Terrence O’Neill-Joyce of Ode Records in New Zealand told the group that “it is every individual’s responsibility to reject piracy, which is destroying legitimate businesses.” O’Neill-Joyce also stressed the need for everyone in the community to be proactive now, rather than wait for someone else to do something.

“The current situation is destroying the national image of Fiji and the cultural life of the community being equated to the value of toilet paper,” O’Neill – Joyce said. He also said, “Copyright can simply be interpreted as the right to copy, which has been severely abused in this country.”

Mr. Mesake Nawari, the Group CEO of Fiji TV said “piracy is like cancer, potentially fatal but we can take preventative measures that can curb or slow down the scourge”.

Nawari said that by combining our resources and efforts, we are in a far better position to address this threat rather than our previous efforts of going at it alone.

Nawari commented on the impact of piracy on Fiji TV where they pay large amounts of money to overseas distributors for the right to show the film or programme on Fiji TV. In the case of the popular TV series “Prison Break” they encountered the unprecedented and loss-making situation of advertisers showing no interest in sponsoring the airing of the show because everyone had already seen it on illegal DVDs.

President of FAVIA, lawyer Hari Ram, was very pleased with the outcome of yesterday’s seminar and the response received from the participants. Ram reiterated the point that the Government should recognize the enormous loss of revenue estimated to amount to as high as $35m from the illegal sales from DVDs alone.

The seminar, which concludes tomorrow, is attended by members of the Fiji Police Force, DPP’s Office, FPRA, FIRCA, the US Embassy, members of FAVIA and overseas delegates from Warner Brothers, Roadshow, Ode Records and Video Ezy.


- END –

For more information, please log onto: www.ifiji.com/favia/

ABOUT FAVIA
The Fiji Audio Visual Association was set up in July 2006 to promote the protection of intellectual property and raise awareness on copyright issues in Fiji. Association members include Fiji Television, SPR, Video Ezy, IMDVD, Damodar Brothers, JK Singh Video Library, Rowell Entertainment, TFL, Video World, Eros Pacific, Forum Films. Office bearers are: President - Hari Ram; Secretary - Chris Caine; and Treasurer - Uday Singh.
 

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