Kedai Komunis VS RIM

Abdul Malik Omar view more articles

01 December 2012 00:04

Kedai Komunis and RIM(Recording Industry Malaysia) dispute has been relatively known to the public. These are two sides fighting under pretext of copyright infringement. In one hand its about gaining profitability by providing cheap CDs and DVDs to the public, while the other in protecting their local music industry’s creative content. As we have seen Komunis lost, was ordered to shut down, and its founder sentenced into prison.

As disappointed and sadden some of the public may be, the law is still the law. Without an effective international copyright law, how can we hope to extend welcome to foreign based media and resources one day? The RIM’s CEO himself commented how Brunei is “extremely lenient and has no deterrent to piracy”(a). From this case thus can we realize the importance of strengthening copyright laws, both locally and regionally.

Now why regionally?

1) “A Band Once” stated in Borneo Bulletin on how their music, ‘Pengorbanan’, was used without their prior permission nor knowledge by TV3(b). What can our locals do to fight this infringement?

2) RIM’s victory over Komunis’s downfall in the court enhanced their public perception. The description bar says its regulatory “responsibilities have further been extended to cover the territory of Brunei”(c). In marketing terms, it means being able to “bend the wills” of the nations’ Law. Hmm??

Alas, the writer is only pushing forward a balanced analysis of what is happening. From here he invites you to give a balanced opinion on the comment section below.