Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Pirated DVDs Sold in Peru Will Pollute the Country for a Long Time

eco worldly
Levi Novey

One of the great things about living in a developing country like Peru is that you can buy DVDs of new movies for a very low price.

For instance, if you want a DVD of The Dark Knight, the new Batman movie, you can already buy it here. Not too shabby, eh?

Of course, you cannot be a stickler for quality with such DVDs, or you will be sorely disappointed.

But if you like laughing along with audiences, wearing a hearing aid while watching movies, or pride yourself in your non-humble ability to tell people to sit down and shut up in the theater, then I’ve got a Kungfu Panda DVD that will be perfect for you.

It will probably come as no surprise to you that these kinds of DVDs are made by pirating businesses who use digital cameras to record new movies in theaters. They then distribute them quickly to the masses for profit. Peru, as well as many other developing countries where pirated DVDs are sold will unquestionably suffer over time from the pollution these DVDs will cause. To better understand why the environmental effect of DVDs will be proportionally greater in Peru than in a country like the United States, read on.

In Peru, it’s virtually impossible to rent a DVD. Why?

It’s the economy, stupid!

As there is a high level of poverty in Peru, the only way vendors of movies can make some cash is by selling DVDs that are cheap. The current rate in Peru is about 3 nuevos soles per a DVD. The exchange rate is currently 2.8 soles/$1 US. You do the math.

It almost becomes ridiculous to think how much Americans will pay to own new DVDs. I myself don’t care to own DVDs, as I generally don’t plan to watch movies more than once, with a few exceptions. So I would almost always prefer to rent movies than buy them. In Peru I have little choice though, because renting movies is virtually impossible given the low cost of pirated DVDs.

Click here to read complete article by Levi Novey

 | | | |

• Economy : September trade had a surplus of US$ 566 millions
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• Travel and Tourism : Prom-Peru to promote Southern Peru tourist destinations in Chilean fair
• Food : US gastronomic website praises Peru's food
• Mining/Energy : Peru: More natural gas found in Camisea

# Jon says :
19 August, 2008 [ 12:57 ]

So what's the moral of the story? Do we not all know this already? It's not pollution to a 5 year old watching Nemo.

# Mike says :
19 August, 2008 [ 14:49 ]

You know, there used to be a Blockbuster over in Plaza San Miguel.....went out of business due to a lack of business.

# Jon says :
19 August, 2008 [ 21:13 ]

Yeah, that was a real genius move. Who in the world would open a block buster in Peru? Was a failure from day one. Wonder who made up that business plan?

# Splaktar says :
19 August, 2008 [ 23:59 ]

Yep, it is impossible to rent non-pirated movies in Arequipa.  You can however find many places that have actual businesses established that rent pirated DVDs.  Pretty surprising. The one time we rented from them, 2 of the DVDs were 'OK' but low quality, the 3rd was in Chineese, and it wasn't a movie made in China!

Basically if you miss it in the movie theater, you have no other option than to buy a pirated DVD.

Ejercito Ave in Arequipa is lined with people selling pirated music and DVDs every day, right next to the police!  No one seems to care and there is no enforcement at all.

I've seen many police officers who buy pirated DVDs and have huge collections of them.  They also offer to buy pirated DVDs for their family, etc.  With the lack of enforcement in Peru, pirated DVDs/Software/Music is part of the culture here.

Thus many successful businesses who could provide thousands of jobs to Peruvians cannot operate in Peru.  There are laws on the books (likely what Blockbuster saw and I imagine they received some guarantees from the gov't of enfocement that were never met) that make this sort of thing illegal.  But like everything else in Peru, with no enforcement and with such a horribly inefficient judicial system there is no hope in this problem being solved anytime soon.

# Mateo says :
20 August, 2008 [ 10:18 ]

Another issue is the lack of tax revenue received from such illegal purchases (not to mention the intellectual property violations, but that's another story).

By purchasing pirated software, movies, etc., the government (corrupt or not so corrupt) is missing out on important streams of revenue which could be used for a myriad of positive improvements in areas such as civil infrastructure and education.
 
If a Blockbuster or other company were to open shop again, it would have to subsidize it's rental fees to below what a pirated DVD retails for, plus add in encryption technology so as to not allow copying. There should also be a public service campaign explaining that copying is stealing and wrong. Maybe a quick shot of the Shining Path causing mayhem in the streets and linking illegal copying to supporting terrorists activities would work?

-Mateo

# Splaktar says :
20 August, 2008 [ 10:57 ]

Nothing will stop pirating in Peru short of jail time and large fines on a large scale.  Some pictures of shining path or anything else will just be ignored.  People only change in Peru if you hit them in the pocketbook (ie: they won't be able to buy as much food and beer).

# ShadowyCrafter says :
3 September, 2008 [ 13:09 ]

I buy pirated movies (although I rarely do watch DVDs at all). Most of the pirated stuff I buy are video games. This avenue, Av.Wilson, is basically a piracy heaven. Is that bad? Perhaps for you. But not for me.

It's not only the levels of poverty, it's also the fact that there's no solid economy (if any) when it comes to video games or rentable movies. Also, how much does it cost a legal DVD or a legal copy of a game? First off, where you get those? I have NEVER seen a video game store that sells legal copies in my life. Those things just don't plain exist. Also, I live somewhat near a marketplace and there're many DVD movie stores. All of them sell pirated movies. Second, how much does it cost a legal game or movie? I don't even want to know.

Is that all bad? Perhaps for you. But not for me. If pirated movies wouldn't exist, it'd take you a lot of money and time to get that film you need for your homework. If pirated games wouldn't exist, all public Internet cabins would die off and the peruvian gaming community would dissappear.

I'll keep on buying pirated stuff.

P.S. Do you think Peru is the dark king of pirates? Compared to many other countries, the Peruvian piracy market is small.

# Splaktar says :
3 September, 2008 [ 13:34 ]

"I have NEVER seen a video game store that sells legal copies in my life. Those things just don't plain exist."

This is because piracy has driven them all out of business.

"If pirated games wouldn't exist, all public Internet cabins would die off and the peruvian gaming community would dissappear."

There is plenty to learn and research online without the need for pirated video games.  Also if the Peruvian gaming community is so important and so strong, why wouldn't they be able to create their own games?

A rental for a normal DVD movie or video game is usually between $3-6 per day, though it varies quite a bit.  There is not much reason to buy most DVDs and rental is sufficient, specially if you are short on money.  Buying video games and playing them is a luxury and not required for the poor to improve their lives or better themselves.  But that software generally sells for $15-50 each.

# ShadowyCrafter says :
9 September, 2008 [ 12:45 ]

"This is because piracy has driven them all out of business."

Honestly, I don't mind. They aren't really necessary with Av. Wilson present.

"Thus many successful businesses who could provide thousands of jobs to Peruvians cannot operate in Peru."

Not really. I can establish my own store, get myself a computer burner and sell DVDs. The only person I'd have to pay would be the owner of the marketplace (That, of course, if I'm not the owner of my stand myself).

"Also if the Peruvian gaming community is so important and so strong, why wouldn't they be able to create their own games?"

I didn't say that the Peruvian gaming community is strong. But you'd have to be blind to not see guys stuck in an internet cabin playing DotA or Counter Strike together. They're many but they know and/or play few types of games. However, I know some guys that play stuff that would NEVER be mentioned in a cabin. Also, they're a "gaming" community, not a "game-making" community. That's different.

# Happydonut12 says :
20 October, 2008 [ 23:14 ]

Hi All,
Well I live in Peru and the pirated DVD's are pretty cool. I got Iron Man and Kung Fu Panda on DVD with the original DVD menu and quality before a month or two of the original release.
I also get pirated games for my Xbox and PS2. Although this is a cool thing I would like to see more control over this issue...I mean isn't making pirated DVD copys illegal? I know that Peru is still trying to get this under control I see it a lot here.

# David N says :
20 October, 2008 [ 23:51 ]

Ah yes, well to all those above that are busy congratulating themselves for purchasing cheap pirated DVDs and games, you are nothing but common thieves dealing in stolen merchandise.  Someone had to put time, money, and effort in creating these products, you are outright stealing from them.

That no legitimate business for purchasing non-pirated goods exists in Peru speaks volumes of the country and its morals.  It's disgusting. 

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