Modern piracy not always at sea [audio 23min]

From Black Beard to bandits who trail the coasts of Somalia, Nick Rankin takes a journey through history looking at pirates of the past, present and future. Rankin is Chief Producer, Arts, at the BBC World Service. He also looks at the issue of modern-day piracy, from illegal downloads of music and software to counterfeit DVDs. You could even be a pirate without realising. In Part Three - Mind-thieves - Nick traces the origins of copyright back to medieval times, where scholars would right curses in their books so that if anyone was to copy what they wrote - they would also copy the curse and be cursed. However, copyright has now reached a digital age and the internet has transformed how we share information. From illegal downloads of music and video, to illicit DVDs and counterfeit designer goods - there isn't anything that's not being replicated illegally. For this episode, Nick travels from London to Hong Kong, finding out how the theft and reproduction of ideas and goods has become big business.