No, not those pirates. Not the ship hijackers off the coast of Somalia. I'm referring to the land based ones selling pirated CDs and movies illegally, right out in the open here in Puerto Rico.

This photo could be used as the perfect symbol of intellectual property violations and criminal violation in law classes all over the world. It's the all in one.

• The "owner" openly calls the micro-business: "The Pirate of the Caribbean".
• He violates trademarks of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie franchise.
• He violates copyright in reproducing movies (DVD) and music (CDs).
• He's setup on a highway, where Puerto Rican police pass by (with their lights flashing) frequently.
• I'm assuming his business is not registered, he's not collecting or remitting sales tax, and he won't be filing taxes on the income.
• And apparently a local sign shop has no problem whatsoever accepting the cash to print up the banner (which promotes the illegal sale of movies/music).

This stand was located next to an "Italian Sausage" roadside, outdoor eatery between Lares and Arecibo, on the way out of the Arecibo Observatory.

Interestingly enough, the owner *never* appeared at the stand the entire time we were present there. I noticed a young guy who was sitting back near other buildings get ready to come over when I neared the tables. I speculate it's possible that he simply stays at a distance in case "the law" ever decides to do anything about it. Of course that's a flawed strategy, since an uncover buy could easily be made, and I assume Puerto Rican police has forensics capabilities to run prints on the 100s of CDs/DVDs spread out on that table... yet, this is the "supposedly" underground economy where not "all" come equipped with MBAs and legal degrees or even common sense!

Now, if people keep getting away with this right out in the open, and making money at it, it's just going to attract more and more new "entrepreneurs".

I want to be fair here in acknowledging that it's certainly not too difficult to get your hands on knock-off or pirates materials outside of Puerto Rico. In fact, many people are simply downloading their own at home. If you head to New York, you can find all kinds of knock offs available there. I even remember 20 years ago when a local flea market in a country outside of Puerto Rico I visited was selling "copied cassette tapes". That business absolutely thrived for months until they eventually did get busted. I never heard the results of what happened, and whether or not it was a legal action, or simply the mall administrators finally cracking down to avoid risk for themselves. Yet, it did stop. This was before the era of the popular Internet, and certainly long before Internet connections would have allowed the easy/quick download of music (and definitely not movies).

So, yes it happens other places too. I just found it very surprising how right out in the open it is. This guy is heralding himself as "The Pirate of the Caribbean". He's selling combos and even offering popcorn (at least the sign says, perhaps in continued mockery).

RIAA / MPAA. I know you guys use Google. It's your move.

For more perspective on how this has all come about, check out the Jenius' blog regarding the "Super Pulgero" (Super Flea Markets) and the underground economy. Also check out this and this.

Mr. Pirate: If you are taking all that risk, you should stop under charging. You might need to have savings for lawyers fees.

I wonder if any of Daddy Yankee's movies or CDs are on that table?

The Insider