Did Desmond Elliot actually tackle movie pirates on the streets of Lagos? Yes, he did, and by his own admission, too at the world premiere of Tempting Fate, penultimate Friday.
Perhaps, he was only joking when he said that he saw pirated copies of AY’s film, 30 Days in Atlanta on Awolowo (Way) and jumped out of the car and grabbed the copies from the offenders before realising that he is now in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
It is a good thing he mentioned that he is now a lawmaker, as the best way to tackle these movie pirates is not on the streets but by strengthening the laws against piracy. That is the only thing that will serve as a deterrent to these people who will stop at nothing to profit from other people’s intellectual property, and daily get more daring in their nefarious activities.
If it is indeed true that the actor, producer and director-turned-politician tackled pirates on the streets, then he should be careful. In fact, all his other colleagues who do the same should be careful, so that in addition to losing their intellectual property, they will not also, God forbid, lose their lives.
The only people who should lose anything at all are the criminals who are going about stealing other people’s intellectual property. And how to tackle them and succeed is through concerted efforts with better laws.