Man ordered to pay RM100,000 for sharing local movie, ‘Munafik 2’, illegally on Facebook

Piracy hurts the film industry. These days, it’s no longer about pirated DVDs as you can find illegal uploads on the internet especially on Facebook. 

Just recently, a man was brought to court for uploading a Malaysian blockbuster hit, Munafik 2, onto social media. He was ordered to pay a whopping RM100,000 to Skop Productions. 

It was reported that an individual, Muhammad Izwan Shah, had shared the movie on his Facebook and Instagram account. The uploaded movie was then shared across multiple sites for free viewing. This was an offence under Section 4(1) of the Copyright Act 1987.

It is illegal to republish copyrighted materials without the consent of the copyright owner. The offence carries a fine of not more than RM200,000 and those found guilty could be put behind bars for up to 5 years. 

According to the film director, Syamsul Yusof, this is the first case in the local industry where an individual is sued for illegal uploads. He hopes that this will be a reminder to all that piracy is a serious crime and action will be taken. He added that FINAS (National Film Development Corporation Malaysia) should take more action when it comes to piracy of local films and stricter enforcement is needed.  

Syamsul had previously warned that he will take action against those who share the film online. He mentioned that he had approached some social media users to take down the video but he got blocked instead. Looks like there are some who didn’t comply to his request and he had reported them to the authorities. 

View this post on Instagram

Sy dah warning sebelumni jangan sebarkan clip/full movie Munafik 2 di media social,tapi degil. Akhirnya mahkamah jatuh hukum pd pesalah utk membayar ganti rugi Rm 100 ribu kpd pihak Skop Productions. . Ramai lagi bakal dihadapkan ke mahkamah atas kesalahan sama sebarkan clip/full movie filem di media social. . WAHAI FINAS,WAHAI KERAJAAN BARU, TOLONGLAH BUKA MATA ISU CETAK ROMPAK FILEM TEMPATAN YG TAKDE KESUDAHAN NI. SAMA ADA CETAK ROMPAK TEPI JALAN ATAU PUN MEDIA SOCIAL. KITA PERLUKAN UNDANG2 BARU YG LEBIH KETAT. . @munafik2movie “Taiping, 13 November – Yang Arif Pesuruhjaya Kehakiman Tuan Asmadi Bin Hussin, Plaintif-Plaintif serta Defendan telah merekodkan perintah-perintah dan hendaklah membayar sebanyak RM 100,000 kepada Skop Productions, dan dihalang daripada melanggar hakcipta untuk filem Munafik 2; memuat naik filem Munafik 2 dalam apa-apa bentuk di dalam media sosial dan platform lain, tanpa keizinan. . #munafik2 #hakcipta Video Credit: @thehitmannazri @finasmalaysia @skmm_mcmc @gobindsinghdeo

A post shared by Syamsul Yusof (@syamsulyusoffilm) on Nov 12, 2018 at 7:43pm PST

Muhammad Izwan has also posted an apology post on his Facebook profile expressing regret for his actions. Although RM100,000 is a huge amount to pay, he is glad that he doesn’t have to do jail time. 

Munafik 2 is the highest grossing Malaysian film of all time. Made with a budget of RM2.9 million, the horror movie had earned RM40 million at the box office in just 17 days. 

Remember, that what you do online can get you into trouble. Apart from sharing illegal content, we recommend not sharing content from less credible sources if you’re not sure. 

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