Sellers of bootleg DVD movies are posing problems on the premises of a membership club and a supermarket in Warrens, prompting the former to engage the services of an attorney to deal with the situation.
Attorney Wilfred Abrahams says the problem has become so severe at PriceSmart that the company retained his services to press criminal charges against those pursuing the illegal practice.
He told the SATURDAY SUN the company had a situation where a number of members, especially females, had complained that even after they said no, they were followed to their vehicles.
“We got sufficient complaints from members that it became a big issue for us, so the company instructed me and I wrote a letter to a number of persons, advising them that they are trespassing, that the company had repeatedly spoken to them, and if they do not adhere to the warning, then we are going to take action against them,” Abrahams said.
Chief of security at Warrens SuperCentre, Fred Forde, said the illegal DVD?salesmen had become “nuisance factors”, noting that one of his men had been stabbed in the shoulder a few weeks ago after confronting a young man who was selling bootleg copies of movies.
“The?DVD men have made life difficult for us. Many of the shoppers have been harassed and when we come out, they run. When we go back in, they come back,” Forde said.
Chairman of the Copyright Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (COSCAP), Derek Wilkie, applauded the membership club for taking action and called for heavier fines “and a more serious outlook to be taken”.
“It cannot continue. These guys are infringing copyright laws and need to be stopped. They are selling illegal copies of copyright material and they must come under the hand of the law.
