Zambian newspaper The Post recently ran a story about the release of new gospel albums and videos from label Doxa Music. Normally, that sort of thing wouldn’t be of much interest for those thinking about the legal side of intellectual property. However, there’s an interesting side to this story.
The Zambian Association of Musicians (ZAM) and the Zambia Copyright Protection Society (ZAMCOPS) both gave Doxa Music recognition for its approach to fighting piracy in Zambia. Doxa’s weapon in that fight? Quality. According to The Post, “the Christian music label has been a leading production house in as far as quality was concerned.”
This high level of quality should not only give consumers an incentive to buy the original product but should also help consumers distinguish between originals and pirated copies.
Afro-Leo recognizes that this method of fighting piracy may not work in countries with more advanced pirating facilities, such as Nigeria. But, it is good to hear that in Zambia the fight against piracy is producing better goods for consumers and encouraging labels to take pride in their products.
