A small team of young artists in Cairo are hoping to solve the global problem of commercial copyright theft. Thousands of books, television and radio programs around the world use music and lyrics that are copyright protected for commercial gain, without the permission of the original artist. That means artists are losing tens of millions of dollars in theft. You’ve probably watched a local movie or TV show recently with “stolen” music.
So author and entrepreneur Ramsey Mullaney, musician and lawyer Lamis Ayman, along with other local musicians, are working to create a solution for artists around the world. C3 (“crowdsourced copyright community”) is the platform for crowdsourcing information on commercial copyright infringement, that rewards people for reporting copyright theft, and works to get artists the money they deserve.
The idea is simple: People in countries around the world read local books and watch local TV/videos/movies. They see a suspicious use of music (or lyric), suspect it’s used without permission, and report it on the C3 platform. The law experts then investigates the claim and if the music is found to be used commercially without permission, begin the process of getting the owed money to the rightful artist — as well as paying the “Crowd Hero” for their diligence.
For more information: Visit the C3 page, and register as a Crowd Hero. Your report could earn you up to 200USD if approved.
Could this Egyptian startup solve the problem of global commercial copyright theft? What do you think? Share with us in the comments below!
