A total of 44 officers from both the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (“ODPP”) and the Fiji Police Force attended a one-day joint workshop on copyright prosecutions last week (27.1.12).
In opening the workshop, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Christopher Pryde said that “to date, there has not been a single successful copyright prosecution in Fiji despite a robust copyright act that was amended in 2009 to make prosecutions of copyright infringers easier. This year we intend to change that.”.
He referred to the establishment of the Fiji Intellectual Property Office and the Copyright Enforcement Unit as important tools in the fight against copyright piracy.
“The theft of copyright imposes a cost on Fiji by depriving artists such as local songwriters and musicians the chance to earn a legitimate living. The ODPP is working closely with the Copyright Enforcement Unit and the Fiji Police to ensure copyright owners have their property rights protected and infringers are prosecuted” Mr Pryde said.