I was in a training over the weekend on Shaped Cd. I learnt
a lot about how Cd’s are made and how they can be
transformed into different shapes to make it unique and a lot
more attractive. There’s a lot that can be done with shaped
Cd’s. From company proposal to concert tickets. The
possibilities are limitless and can only be hindered by the limits
we place on it.

A very key area in Cd production was brought to my
awareness or rather I was reminded of it. It has always been
one of the things I strongly stand against and think everyone
should. It amazes me how people will want to make a living
from stealing and not feel bothered in any way.

Theft is an unfortunate problem that every industry confronts in
some form, whether burglary, robbery, counterfeiting, shoplifting,
embezzlement or others. Businesses that rely on copyright to
protect their products and services - such as the music industry,
the movie industry, software companies, publishers and other
information providers - are no different. Copyright is a form of
property and copyright infringement is theft. Blatant infringement
is also often referred to as “piracy”.

The history of piracy goes all the way back to ancient times, the
time of ancient Greece and Rome. Around 500 BC pirates
attacked the many cargo ships that sailed the Mediterranean Sea.
The modern day pirates by way of forgery or duplication steals
the hard work of an individual and makes profit from the sale of
this products.

It is saddening to know that in Nigeria, we have no regard for
copyright laws and those who do have regard for the law some
times unknowingly buy the products of pirates. Why will anyone
patronize pirates? Probably because its a lot cheaper than the
original ones. With that in mind, how would you feel if you spent
your time and money in inventing something and struggled to get
it patented and someone or a group of people are involved in
duplicating it and making a living out of it? Its painful and heart
breaking.

Mr Werner Wildberger, the facilitator and Technical Director of
ShapeCD Africa gave a step by step illustration on the procedure
in getting the rights to shape Cd’s for a particular German Club.
The concept was a form of collectors pack for 22 members of
the team showcasing the player’s profile. He had to first approach
the Club Management to get the right to use the team players.
This shows that he respected the fact that there is a process to
using other people’s patent.

In a very real sense, piracy adversely affects the world economy
by diverting money that stimulates further product development.
If you make a copy of someone else’s content and sell it, whether
in hard copy form, soft copy, or in any other way, you are pirating
the copyright owner’s rights to copy and sell the content. It is there
fore illegal to download songs or videos from the web.

If you like a particular artist or an actor, then you will want to
ensure that this artist or actor gets paid for his sweat. It is our
duty to make sure that pirates are put out of business. Every
individual has a role to play in ensuring that this happens. If we
do not patronize them, then they will be discouraged. So the next
time you see someone in traffic or anywhere else selling pirated
Cd’s, know that you have a choice to either support piracy or put
an end to it.