KAPA's role is to be a central information operation. KAPA itself cannot directly prosecute piracy. Only the true owner of a copyright can press charges and prosecute piracy. Please read the following information regarding your options.

REPORTING PIRACY

The battle against piracy is not an easy one. First of all, piracy is a federal offense. Arresting and prosecuting individuals involved in piracy requires the use of US Marshals or FBI agents for the investigations and arrests. The current anti-terrorism activities of federal authorities have limited their ability and interest in the pursuit of lesser crimes, such as piracy. Travel requirements for manufacturing companies to meet with federal agents with limited schedules also impacts the ability of both the companies and the federal agents to pursue pirates that might be classified as "lesser" crooks. That does not mean that all piracy is being ignored, but the investigations do have to be prioritized. Certainly piracy needs to be reported to the manufacturing company that owns the copyrights to the music that is being copied.

Individuals who are being impacted by piracy still have other options. While they cannot pursue copyright infringement actions against a pirate, there are other legal options. The first is to simply inform the bar or club owner that they are hiring a KJ with illegal copies of music. A bar owner who knowingly uses a contractor that is in violation of the law risks sanctions including the loss of their liquor license. Very few owners will be willing to risk that.

Secondly, you may be able to file illegal competition suits against the parties using copied discs. These laws go by different names in each state, but nearly every state has laws against using contraband products to create an unfair competitive business advantage. You can talk to your local district attorney's office about this, and find out what the legal process is in your state or city.

Support the companies that combat piracy. These companies are listed below. At this time, however, each of these company's ability to pursue a pirate may be limited by factors beyond their control. Some companies choose not to fight this problem. They may choose to ignore piracy because they just don't care, because they don't want to shoulder the legal expense of legal action, or because they never took the time to license their products and get the copyrights for it, and cannot take legal action.

To assist the companies in investigations, fill out and mail this printable form to the appropriate manufacturer.

MANUFACTURERS