MALAYSIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dato’ Brian Law, Suaran Singh Sidhu, Ashwinathan Selvanathan and Jannah Khairul, LAW Partnership
the public and providing any service of stream - ing technology. In essence, as part of Malaysia’s efforts to curb illegal streaming, Section 43AA of the CA 1987 explicitly bans any illicit streaming devices as it contravenes copyright laws in the country. The introduction of this new provision came as a result of a landmark ruling by the Intellec - tual Property Court in Malaysia that declared that selling, offering or distributing TV boxes or streaming devices enabling unauthorised access to copyrighted content was copyright Digital piracy, which is the act of copying and distributing copyrighted digital content without the copyright owner’s permission or authorisa - tion is prevalent in Malaysia. The introduction of illegal Android boxes known as “TV Box” allows any individual to access copyrighted materials such as movies and live events such as foot - ball matches, without the need to subscribe to any authorised and legal channels. These illicit streaming devices (ISDs) are often offered at rel - atively low price points compared to the author - ised channels. A common use of ISDs is for the streaming of sporting events. It is a common occurrence in Malaysia for pubs or bars and certain eateries to broadcast English Premier League football live at their premises. However, unbeknown to custom - ers, the live broadcast of the football matches is often illegal as they are being streamed or broad - casted without a legitimate subscription. Implications of ISDs First and foremost, ISDs pose a considerable threat to the intellectual property rights of cop - yright owners. Astro Malaysia, the exclusive infringement. Latest trends
broadcast company for Premier League and English FA Cup football in Malaysia, stated that the estimated loss to the industry and to the Malaysian economy due to piracy is over MYR3 billion annually (USD665 million) with MYR500 million in taxes to the Malaysian government being lost. The implications and loss in revenue due to pira - cy have severe implications such as the potential risks of loss of jobs for individuals involved in the industry. It can also be a block to creativity within the industry where copyright owners alike would be dissuaded from creating new movies, tv shows and other content. Ultimately, consum - ers would be the losing party due to the rampant use of ISDs. It would also prevent any foreign investment in the Malaysian media and entertainment industry. Countries that have very strict laws against illicit streaming devices may shy away from invest - ing in the media and entertainment industry in Malaysia, which would cause the economy to plummet further and reduce jobs for creators within the industry. Media companies such as Astro have invested millions into providing premium content to con - sumers within Malaysia. The widespread use of ISDs could see media giants lose interest in investing so much money into premium content as it would not be a profitable venture for them, potentially resulting in a reduced amount of pre - mium content available for Malaysian consum - ers. Furthermore, ISDs also affect the film industry. New releases of movies playing in cinemas are readily available through ISDs. Again, this fur - ther affects the Malaysian economy and causes losses to the film industry.
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