In the past weeks, rumors have flown in Cuba and over social media about new state legislation that went into effect on Sept. 19 and that many feared would ban private businesses from selling digital audiovisual content. Such a ban would deal a significant blow to the “paquete” or “packet,” Cuba’s robust offline system of media distribution that, since 2010, has come to constitute the main source of global entertainment on the island.
Concerns about the paquete and its future demonstrate the unique status of media piracy in Cuba. While the Cuban state widely disregards international intellectual property law, it remains wary of citizen piracy. This is because, in Cuba, to control media piracy is to control media distribution, a strategic area that the state has long reserved for itself.
Following the 1959 Cuban revolution, the new government quickly nationalized key industries, including media production and distribution. The ICAIC, a national film …