Two entertainment centres raided for copyright infringement

GEORGE TOWN,  Sept 12 (Bernama) — Two entertainment premises in Jalan Sri Bahari and Jalan Kek Chuan, here, were raided by the Penang Enforcement Division of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) yesterday for suspected copyright infringement and unauthorised use of registered works for commercial purposes.

Its director S. Jegan said the raid was conducted by 20 KPDN enforcement officers along with eight representatives from the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) following complaints from representatives of the copyright holders.

He said the raided premises were licensed entertainment centres offering karaoke services.

During the raid, authorities discovered music software suspected of violating the Copyright Act 1987, leading to the seizures of various electronic equipment, namely karaoke sets containing several types of music software suspected to be infringing copies of 14 songs, he said in a statement today.

Jegan said other equipment seized during the raid were six microphone units, one digital audio karaoke set, four sets of speakers, two televisions and one touch screen karaoke unit system.

He said the raid was conducted as the two premises continued to violate the copyright of the work despite repeated warnings.

The case is investigated under Section 41(1) of the Copyright Act 1987, he said and advised parties using copyright works for business activities to get approval from the copyright holders.

— BERNAMA