Nu Metro says it will be taking court action against video rental outlets that continue to flaunt copyright laws by renting DVDs and videos without a licence.
It says it is aware that some video stores have been renting unlicensed products that they have purchased at retail stores.
Nu Metro intends dropping its prices from August 1, a move it says is intended to combat piracy. Video/DVD rental outlets will then pay between R250 and R210 for a rental copy, plus a 4% distribution charge and VAT. The prices at the moment are between R290 and R260 for a copy.
The video rental industry is under investigation by the Competition Commission following a complaint from a Durban-based business.
Nu Metro’s Paul Jenkins says a number of outlets have been buying retail copies of DVDs and videos because of changes to the window period between rental and retail release dates. Some studios have reduced these periods while others retain them.
Jenkins says some studios have reduced the window period in an attempt to combat piracy.
“A year ago, the distinction between rental and retail rights was not a big issue as there was a window,” said Jenkins.
Charl van der Merwe, Nu Metro Home Entertainment general manager, says that as an industry it is spending between R20-million and R30-million combating piracy, but is struggling to win the battle as pirates are now selling between five and 10 movies per disc at a price of R80. “On that level, you will never be able to compete with them,” says Van der Merwe.
Jenkins says that the difference in price between rental and retail DVDs amounts to a licence fee payable to the studios in compensation for the right to rent their intellectual property and that it is part of the terms the studios impose in doing business.
Universal Pictures international senior vice-president of video Mike Preece said in a letter, in the possession of the Mail & Guardian, that studios do not have the authority to place controls on a distributor if the rights to the movie for that particular territory have been given up.