The Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) will destroy infringed DVDs and CDs weighing more than one ton on Thursday.
KECOBO said the DVDs and CDs were rounded up from 120 raids in businesses engaged in the illegal recordings that resulted in 108 prosecutions.
This will be the third time that the board, which has often worked in collaboration withthe Kenya Police and the Recording Industry Association of Kenya (RIAK), will be engaged in a similar activity.
“CDs and DVDs earmarked for destruction are drawn from the exhibits of concluded court cases as a result of concerted efforts by the Kenya Copyright Board in collaboration with the Kenya Police and the music/film rights holders such as the Recording Industry Association of Kenya (RIAK) amongst others,” senior public communication officer Rosemary Waithaka, in a statement, said.
Piracy, particularly, of music in Kenya is rampant with the industry placing losses attributable to the vice at billions of shillings. Although new stricter laws placed by the government have been instrumental in reducing copyright infringement, the vice remains high in the rural areas where KECOBO is constrained in terms of monitoring, as it faces a shortage of staff.
KECOBO said it has partnered with Eco Post limited, which it says will help crush and dispose the destroyed material in an environmentally friendly manner.
According to the board, Eco Post Limited will crush and destroy the unauthorized DVDs and CDs in an environmentally friendly approved manner. The crushed material will then be used as fillers in the manufacture of hardy posts which are used as an alternative to timber posts and contribute to the conservation of forests.”
