Macedonian Authorities File Piracy Charges Against Local Cable Operator

The Macedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs filed criminal charges against a local cable operator called Robi, from the town of Stip, eastern Macedonia, and its Skopje branch called Telekabel, for illegally broadcasting programs of several foreign TV stations, including the French Mezzo and the Serbian Pink Plus.

As the Ministry informed, the cable operator broadcast the programs of several TV stations without obtaining the necessary certificate for a registered program package from Macedonia’s Broadcasting Council. Robi and Telekabel charged consumers a monthly fee for this service, thus violating the copyright of the TV stations.

This action was taken after the cable operator Cabletel informed the Coordinating Body for Protection of Intellectual Property in Macedonia and the State Market Inspectorate in July 2010 that cable operator Telekabel broadcasts TV stations without regulated copyrights. An inspection was conducted in August and these charges were confirmed.

For more information, please contact Aleksandra Pavlovic at our Macedonia Office.

Source: Macedonian daily Dnevnik