Media piracy and enforcement in Brazil : costs and benefits; toward détente in media piracy, Rio de Janeiro (August, 2010) (original) (raw)

The educational measures have become the way out of this stalemate, in the hope that an "intellectual property culture" can be built over time. A close look at the content of these measures, however, reveals a degree of self-delusion and disconnection from consumer experience that makes such cultural change extremely unlikely. What we can hope for, in our view, is a more honest, transparent, and accountable public debate and politics of intellectual property in Brazil, in which policymaking is better calibrated to the needs-and realities-of contemporary Brazilian life". "Educational measures, in contrast, provide a middle ground where the two sides can generally reach consensus. The basis of this consensus is that neither the public nor private sectors are to blame for the prevalence of piracy and counterfeiting in Brazil. Rather, the blame falls on consumers, who are ignorant of the harms caused by piracy and thus in need of education. This implies a longer term project-a "gradual change of perceptions in society by understanding the harmful effects of illegal products and their high social costs. The aim is to replace the idea that piracy brings benefits and a cheap… way to satisfy consumers' needs." (Barcellos 2009: 3)". Educational projects are funded and developed mainly by the private sector, in many cases with explicit approval of government-indeed one of the CNCP's roles is to give official government sanction to these initiatives. Nearly all of them are advocacy campaigns in disguise, promoting industry-friendly narratives on piracy that avoid the controversial issues that generate stalemates in CNCP (or, for that matter, that define actual consumer experience with pirated goods). This front comprises advocacy campaigns, trainings, media campaigns, content production for the press and other ways of knowledge production aiming at provoking a "cultural change" in consumers and society as a whole. If piracy is not only a matter of enforcement, but also of business models (including price, distribution and other access aspects) and consumer habits, shouldn't there be a balance between intellectual property and access to knowledge rights? Would dealing with piracy as a police issue be the best way to guarantee civil rights? This project has analyzed enforcement measures, media coverage and the institutional field of the combat against piracy aiming at understanding how it is done, by whom, in order we can evaluate pros and cons and who is benefiting from it.