Odd+bedfellows,+firms,+police+and+NPA,+Business+Day

Business Day, Letters, Johannesburg, 22 December 2005
=**Odd bedfellows**=

I have difficulty with the concept that the police, and now the National Prosecuting Authority, are effectively working for a pressure group, the South African Federation Against Copyright Theft (Safact), whose interest is protecting the profits of its member businesses. By embracing the concept that copyright abuse is akin to theft, the authorities are aiding these businesses, for a fee it seems, when another business that thought its rights had been abused would have to use the courts to sue for damages.

Safact may well believe copyright abuse is a crime, but this unfortunate utilisation of public resources keeps prices of items such as CDs and DVDs artificially high.

Only particular businesses benefit from aggressive copyright protection, not the economy and most certainly not consumers.

Sydney Kaye Cape Town

From: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/opinion.aspx?ID=BD4A130600