Boy, is our face red.
It looks like Australia has once again made it on the map for biggest piracy offences in a recent report released by the Motion Picture Association of America.
This time, the spotlight was on Melbourne Caribbean Gardens and Markets as it was named one of the 'global hotspots' for pirated content being distributed alongside global cities like Odessa, Jakarta, Rio De Janeiro and Beijing. The markets are infamous for the distribution of illegal copies of region 1 and 2 DVDs as well as pirated copies of recently released Blockbusters which can be found at any of the 10-20 market sellers.
According to the report, while the number of sellers has decreased significantly decreased since the early - mid 2000s, there has still has been a steady rise recently. The MPAA write in the report the reason for this is the lack of enforcement and specifically blames the state and federal police as showing 'no interest in enforcing the issue despite multiple entreaties from right holders.'
Check out this piece in The Australian for a more in depth report.
Anybody visited the Melbourne Caribbean Garden and Markets?
Is Australia really showing that much of a neglect towards issues of piracy and theft of intellectual property? Or is the MPAA taking things a little too extreme?
Tell us your thoughts!
