Fighting a seemingly losing battle against illegal downloads and file-shares, music and movie distributors in the UAE have been given hope by a recent landmark judgment in the UK. Last week, the high court issued a ruling that the UK's ISPs should block users' access to the file-sharing portal Pirate Bay as it violates copyright laws.
The judgment follows an appeal by an industry grouping representing some of the leading music companies in the UK. Now the industry — or some elements within it — is looking to see whether this can be replicated elsewhere, including the UAE.
"Last year was a catastrophe for the retail side of the music business in the UAE and there's no need to search far and wide for the reason," said a senior industry executive representing one of the biggest music labels. "File-share and downloads have reached epidemic proportions here, so much so that the official music business did not even get a lift from any of the concerts held in the UAE last year and featuring world-renowned artists. It was never the case before."
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