Music Piracy is a 5 billion dollar worldwide problem. It rears its ugly head everywhere, often completely ruining the livelihoods of performers and people working in the music industry. Ireland, with its rich musical tradition, is also a lucrative market for piracy, with music industry losses running to EURO3.8 million annually, this figure increases to EURO63.5 million when pirated software and videos are included.
Under the Copyright Act and Trademarks Act, warrants or orders can be obtained from the District Court authorizing Gardai to enter premises or vehicles and seize pirated products.
Under the Casual Trading Act, persons selling any products without the appropriate Casual Trading License may have their stock seized without warrant.
IRMA maintains a team of highly experienced investigators, available at all times to assist in the detection, identification and seizure of pirated music cassettes and CDs. They prepare all documentation required when applying to the Courts for warrants and orders. IRMA personnel are accepted by the Courts as experts in the identification of piracy.
With the invaluable help of the Gardai and other government agencies, IRMA will continue to protect the lifeblood of Irish music.
What is Piracy
Simple Piracy
- Unauthorised duplication of music from legitimate recordings without the permission of rights owners.
Couterfeits
- Copied and packaged to resemble the original sound recording
- Intending to decieve
Bootleg
- Recording, duplicating and selling a live concert or broadcast without permission of the rights' owner.
Internet Policy
- Unauthorised use of music via the internet
- Fact: One in three recordings worldwide is pirate
What is Suspicious
- Poor quality & graphics
- Promos & cover versions
- No record label
- Low cost
- SID code obliterated (SID = Source Identification Code : A four character code that appears on CD's and identifes the plant that mastered and/or replicated the CD).
- No SID code
- Incorrect spelling
What can you do about Piracy?
If you would like to make a report about a person or company that is selling illegal music, please contact us at: irma.piracy@irma.ie
