Most channels in Moldova practice piracy, copyright watchdog

The Association for the Protection of Copyright and Related Rights “Apollo” has found that most TV channels in Moldova practice piracy extensively and almost systemically, which results in unfair competition against good-faith broadcasters, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to Apollo, a staggering 75 to 80 percent of films shown on the Moldovan channels are pirated. Channels either use schemes to feign existence of copyright agreements with ghost-companies or don't even bother to get such agreements, the watchdog organization says in a letter to relevant national and international authorities. To improve the situation, Apollo is suggesting to amend the Broadcasting Code to provide harsher punishments for piracy. The organization recalls that about a year ago it requested the Parliament's specialized commission to consider harsher sanctions, but nothing has been done so far. “Further, the Electronic Press Association APEL has developed a new Broadcasting Code, together with the Soros-Moldova Foundation, a bill that has received acclaim from the European Union, the Council of Europe and the OSCE, but which remains dead letter because of the non-functionality of the Moldovan state institutions, in particular of the Moldovan Parliament”, says Apollo. A recent concrete case signalled by Apollo concerns the cable operator StarNet. “Even though the Broadcasting Coordination Council withdrew this company's license for copyright violations, in particular the illegal rebroadcasing of 110 channels, StarNet continues today not just to illegally provide these services but also to launch new ones. This is a situation where not only movies, but entire channels are being pirated from abroad. “However, the Prosecution Service, the Anticorruption Center and the Interiors Ministry have failed to react to the violations committed by StarNet, even though the above-mentioned agencies were notified by the Broadcasting Coordination Council, and only the Competition Protection Agency fined the company for an amount equal to 3% of its 2010 profit. “The complicit inaction of the Moldovan law-enforcement agencies in ceasing these serious violations has been continued by a more than dubious decision by the Chisinau Court of Appeals to suspend the withdrawal of the license for StarNet, which is totally unacceptable in a state based on the rule of law and which is an interference in the work of the relevant authorities, a substitution of jurisdiction”, says Appolo's letter. The organization requests the Moldovan authorities to intervene and stop the illegalities and the international institutions to monitor with increased attention the development of the case and advise the national authorities to restore legality.