Piracy and Copyright: Nepali Context
On Saturday, April 30th, group of Nepali Twitter users discussed piracy, digital rights and copyright. Here is there story. I have tried to summarize the debate in a way that brings out the heart of discussion-which was piracy and Nepali music and also software piracy. Thanks to all the participants.
- So true..we generally see piracy as a victim less crime. But in reality, the programmer who worked hard to develop new software, the artists who is invested in his/her new CD-they all deserve fair pay for their hard work. Piracy takes their due away from them.
- In Nepal, per capita GDP is about US$ 427 according to 2009 World Bank data.That is very minimal and obviously the high priced software and music CDs are beyond the reach of general users. But this can be a way to develop local software market and encourage local programmers.
- This is where culture comes to play. In Nepali culture, we are accustomed to viewing intellectual property like music, literature and now software as "public service".They are meant to be shared. Nothing wrong with sharing but let us honor those who created it before sharing.
- Price reduction, tighter control and also strict intellectual property laws could bring piracy under control and insure that artists, writers and programmers are properly paid for their hard work.
