Guys!!! i get deppress everyday when i see Nollywood Pirated Videos being sold like biskuits. Almost all the African stores here are selling nollywood pirated movies. When asked them who supply it to them, they said they got their supply from a Nigeria Guy that is mass reproducing naija movies "he makes like $20000 everymonth". Well i don't have problem with Pirating, since Hollywood and Bollywood are being pirated too. The Problem i have is that They are selling naija films over the counter not under the counter. They r even reporting the taxes to the govt. Well, is there anyway we can Report this people or something, b/c am willing to snitch. For real.

[s]Alas, copyright laws are not criminal laws, so the Nollywood producers themselves have to go to the US to sue the pirates.[/s] Oops, it seems I was wrong.

I was wondering exactly the same thing too.

Amobi 1:

Guys!!! i get deppress everyday when i see Nollywood Pirated Videos being sold like biskuits. Almost all the African stores here are selling nollywood pirated movies. When asked them who supply it to them, they said they got their supply from a Nigeria Guy that is mass reproducing naija movies "he makes like $20000 everymonth". Well i don't have problem with Pirating, since Hollywood and Bollywood are being pirated too. The Problem i have is that They are selling naija films over the counter not under the counter. They r even reporting the taxes to the govt. Well, is there anyway we can Report this people or something, b/c am willing to snitch. For real.

I was wondering the very same thing too.

Piracy was a crime when I lived in US. When did change?. My neighbour served 6 months in jail and 2 years probation for that shit. I laughed my butt off cos he used to have the latest DVDS even before they were released. Once the authorities pick up one store owner in America, everybody will sober up.

Amobi 1:

Guys!!! i get deppress everyday when i see Nollywood Pirated Videos being sold like biskuits. Almost all the African stores here are selling nollywood pirated movies. When asked them who supply it to them, they said they got their supply from a Nigeria Guy that is mass reproducing naija movies "he makes like $20000 everymonth". Well i don't have problem with Pirating, since Hollywood and Bollywood are being pirated too. The Problem i have is that They are selling naija films over the counter not under the counter. They r even reporting the taxes to the govt. Well, is there anyway we can Report this people or something, b/c am willing to snitch. For real.

Please snitch. Many of them have built homes in their villages on the sweat of others. The Mohammed Guy in New York used to be the biggest pirater back in the day but I hear he is going legit now after doing it for many years.

If there's a way to report them, then please do.

I would so snitch too if there was a way, i see my friends all buying them here and wondered once if there was control, not right these guys are making the best of their lives in Nigeria and all the greedy little people here are getting paid of their backs. I refuse to pay for them myself. Nollywood is a growing industry and it needs all the help and that means the right ppl getting the money. Its a shame, the industry should try to go into comminities abroad where they consume their products and get some sort of crack down on piracy, it will work i think better than it could in Nigeria.

All the African stores in the US are pirating even the ones selling it on the internet. Onlinenigeria is one. One day these Idumota people go kobo for their head.

We should first of all create an avenue for the distribution of legitimate Nigerian movies in the US.
If the pirates persist after legitimate copies become available, then stopping would be justifyable.

Seun:

We should first of all create an avenue for the distribution of legitimate Nigerian movies in the US.
If the pirates persist after legitimate copies become available, then stopping would be justifyable.

Great point. Unfortunately, the movies aren't even registered/copyrighted with any central authority in the US, so those stores selling bootlegs are not even committing a crime yet (this is what I was told, anyway--I can't vouch for its accuracy).

On the other hand, there's a new DVD production company that's putting out high-quality, original DVDs of Nigerian (and Ghanaian) videos named Sanga Entertainment. It's owned by a Ghanaian who's partnering with producers in Nigeria to legitimately put their movies out in DVD format abroad. Here's a review of one DVD they put out recently: http://www.africanmag.com/viewer/magazines/article.asd/id/303/vts/design001

Without the pirates, Nollywood movies won't be as popular abroad as they are now. A lot of people who are addicted to Nigerian movies would be addicted to something else. Without a distribution network, the pirates are assets. Once you have an efficient distribution network, the pirates become liabilities and you can start fighting them.

but how do you know if the dvd are legit or not? they are coming str8 from Nigeria, still in the original pack
most of the people that sell them dont even know how to operate a computer talk less of copying dvd
you even see the actors/actress themselves in some of the shops.

Hi all, here is a serious case @hand even hollywoods movies that are just coming out are even pirated its is difficult to believe they sell these movies inside the subways .if care is not taken they will sell it on planes.Its a global war that has to be won. I remember 3 years ago I  was reading TIMES MAGAZINE I've forgoten the exact edition. Someone in Asia(can't remember the exact country now) called his friend in the State to tell him about a pirated movie .(copied on DVD) ,his friend wouldn't believe him until he bought the dvd and brought it to him here in the State.A movie that was not yet on the screen for the public to see then.According to TIMES Magazine most of the time the movies are sent to some group of people to watch and recommend corrections if there is need for and they are CODED,as a result when  copied they knew who did it.
sometimes they are insiders.
P.S
HIGH TIME TO PRIVATISE MY IDEAS .

Glad to hear the concerns for Nollywood works being stolen abroad. The fact is and I was discussing this with my friend Chinedu from the PMRS Nigeria [collection agency for musicians] that even though there are international treaties of Copyright which Britain[& Europe] , the States and the Us have all signed and ratified etc, they are not enforcing the international treaties in their own boarders.

For instance there was a recent case of a Court hearing in which N101.2 million trans-border piracy scam was busted -  the secondery infringers [piraters]were nabbed pirating copies of films made by the West[American Studios etc] . When it went to the Nigeriancourts the perps were charged and the DVDs seized and the proceeds of the stolen goods given back to the Copyrights Owners. Nigeria effectively included in its copyright law protection for works done by non Nigerians and or non residents. This is not the case in the U.k under the Designs Copyright and PatentsAct 1988, protection only goes to British Citizens [not even sure if it includes those with stays but does under the European treaties i.e those who are Europeans etc]. When a claim is made that includes protection of outsiders this includes outsiders that are British[i.e Black British] they hardly
get a consideration.

As for the US you will find that like the rest of the member states that signed the various treaties they come out with a get out clause not to do what they agreed to do & the clause is  called CONFLICT OF LAWS. 
Nigerian Films made in Nigeria should be registered in the States in order to be fully applicable under US Copyright Protection Laws. Even then it is an effort to get justice [see the mother of the MAtrix case SOPHIA STEWART, Troy Walker, Gregory L Hudson and others]

What is impossible with men is possible with GOD.

Then there is the matter of  fact that most NIgerian film producers themselves have violated others creative works by placing music and films in the films which they have produced without permit.
[you know in scenes like a party or club where the characters dance or is sitting down and the t.v is on in the back ground and whatever is showing is showing on the t.v] These are protectible works which need the permits of the creative persons before they put it in the film.  And many of them just dont have the permits perhaps

You know? (, and take this from a wise man    ), what I am about to say might sound like a joke, but I am dead serious about it!  It absolutely sickens  me when I hear people trying to play "protector" for Nollywood with regards to piracy issues. In spite of the so-called piracy, the industry has continued to grow, and grow, and grow! By my estimates it will be the largest move industry (in terms of numbers) in the not-so-distant future. So why all the "hoopla"
Piracy is a big problem, I agree, but it has been around for ages. It is certainly not going away now y'all can believe that. Here is my take on the "real" issue Nollywood is having:

1- They have failed to address the issue of piracy at home:
At the risk of sounding cynical, I'd like to say that is a shame that Nigerian movie makers are coming all the way to the US to "fight piracy", yet when they cannot even face the problem in their home country. No other country's movie industry will ever stoop this low, but in this case it's the "soon to be largest." In the 1980s and early 1990s when we were crazy about "video clubs" in Nigeria, all those hit moves like RAMBO and COMMANDO (some Indian and Chinese movies as well) were all over the place! Many were sold in the open markets and rented out in "video clubs" illegally. We never saw the American, Chinese, or Indian movie producers come to Nigeria to ask us to waste taxpayer money fighting to protect "their" product.  They dealt with the problem in their home country, and as a  result,  each of these industries today realize most of their profits at home and in the actual markets for which the products were intended. Failing to deal with the problem at home, and instead trying to use another country's legal system that is unfortunately open to just about any kind of litigation (including spilling hot coffee on yourself from McDonalds), only further underscores some of our failures as a country.

2- Some of the so-called copyrighted movies already themselves violate international copyright agreements:
There was a movie titled "Sharon Stone." Another named "Beyonce and Rihana." Countless other movies Nollywood have also used names of songs, and even actual songs produced by American music producers with impunity and with out remorse. I have heard songs by Celine Dion, Roberta Flack, and Back Street Boyz in Nollywood movies, and I am sure they didn't get any permission from these artists. Yet, they in the same very token have the nerve to cry foul about copyright issues. How laughable! If their argument is going to ever hold water, they will need to clean up their own act first. In the US, if your work so much as resembles that of another person without proper consultations, you will face serious copyright issues.

3- Nollywood movies would never have become as popular as they are if it weren't for they would call "piracy" (particularly online streaming):
Most of the folks who watch videos for free online (in the US), only watch it for that very reason, "free." These are not folks who would otherwise have purchased the movies for 10-15 dollars or so, Trust me! FOLKS WILL SIMPLY NOT BUY IF IT IS NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE!!! And those who still do purchase, will purchase,  online streaming or no online streaming! Because nobody would prefer to watch a whole movie in bits and pieces on a laptop screen if they have reasonable access to the DVD disk and can comfortably sit in their living room and watch it on their big-screen plasma. Some of the people that calculate the estimate of the "losses" arrive at their conclusions based on analysis of online traffic related to Nollywood movies, and extrapolating from or translating those numbers directly to DVD sales. That is really delusional indeed!!  Like I said earlier, there is no relationship between online activity (streaming and viewing) and actual DVD sales. Again, I speak for the US audience in particular.

A little advise for Nollywood producers. The way people watch movies (and listen to music) in 2011 has changed. It's all digital now! We've done the magnetic (VHS and tape media) in the 1980s, the optical (CDs and DVDs) in the 1990s, and in this era, nearly everything is digital! Napster changed the way we listen to music forever. Netflix has also changed the delivery of digital video to consumers as well. They (Nollywood and its producers) either adjust with the times and stop whinning, or get left behind.

There are many more reasons why the producers should focus on their work and approach the problem more intelligently, like encrypting the data on their DVDs, and opening their own web based distribution channels. They just need to think.

como vai! interesting to read this post here. I am here in Brazil and a Brazilian who love african movies because is my root. And I am able to watch my good of African films on www.yatotainment.com May you should try to watch it there too.

tchau - bye

sorry for my english