Media personality MC Yaa Yeboah has criticised how Ghanaian authorities are handling movie piracy, saying that sending caution letters is no longer effective.
Speaking on UTV’s United Showbiz, she referred to a recent letter sent by the National Film Authority (NFA) to television stations.
In the letter, the NFA warned that any TV station caught airing pirated movies would have its license revoked. But according to MC Yaa Yeboah, the NFA does not even have the power to revoke licenses.
“The NFA recently issued a letter to television stations warning them that if they air movies without proper authorization, their licenses will be revoked. However, upon researching this matter, I discovered that the NFA is not even the institution responsible for revoking licenses,” she said.
She also pointed out that the NFA has not had any discussions with the Copyright Office about finding solutions to piracy.
“To date, the NFA has not held any meetings with the copyright office regarding piracy,” she stated.
According to her, this lack of coordination and real action is part of the reason piracy continues to be a major problem in Ghana.
“Whenever the topic of piracy arises, it seems some institution releases a press statement to give the impression that they are taking action, yet they are doing nothing,” she said.
She explained that movie producers spend a lot of money to make films, but some people and TV stations take these movies and show them without permission, and with no consequences.
“Producers invest millions of cedis in making their movies, only for others to take these movies, air them on their platforms without permission, and profit from them. Meanwhile, the institutions responsible for addressing piracy just issue letters, to avoid appearing inactive,” she said.
MC Yaa Yeboah also threw a challenge to the Copyright Office. She called on them to publicly show what action they have taken so far.
“I challenge the copyright office to release a list of television stations they have arrested, individuals they have sanctioned, and any cases brought to court for piracy,” she added.
She ended her remarks by saying that writing letters to stop piracy is no longer helpful and that the time for real action is long overdue.
“At this point, writing letters to people to caution them against piracy is absolutely useless, action should be taken,” she concluded.
Watch the video below
AK/EB
Also, watch an exclusive interview with Ayisi on the latest edition of Talkertainment below:
