Top blanket

Top blanket in Madrid

Top manta is the expression that, in Spain, (manteros in Argentina) is used to refer to the street sale of counterfeit products such as music CDs, video DVDs commercials and video games, clothing, watches and other imitation products; Materials that when sold infringe current copyright in that country, therefore the activity is illegal and punishable by prison. The people dedicated to this are called manteros or topmanteros (although the other term is used more, it is also contemplated) and they collect their merchandise as quickly as they can and flee when they notice the police presence. There is a social, legal and legislative debate on the phenomenon, its origins and consequences.

Name

The denomination top manta probably comes from a parody of the top (or charts) of conventional music. The productions that are sold in the top blanket are productions that are commercially successful and dominate the top of radio stations, so being in the top blanket implies that, probably, you are on a list of musical hits of the moment.

Form of operation

Top blanket in Zarauz (Guipúzcoa).

The manteros are usually placed on promenades or streets where many people pass, such as on the promenades, or in the center of towns, and they are the last link in a commercial chain of counterfeit materials from large illegal markets with factories in Spain itself and in countries like China, as well as low-cost textile factories like Bangladesh and India. Some of those who work as topmanters are illegal immigrants from countries like Senegal, the Ivory Coast and Guinea Bissau.

Social impact

Social groups such as record companies, management companies, producers from the entertainment industry and trade associations —including famous places like Las Ramblas in Barcelona where the Platform for People Affected by the Top Manta exists— and from areas such as textiles, blame the top manta for million-dollar losses. These groups also ask the authorities for measures against the phenomenon such as police operations against vendors and requisitions of illegal material. Political parties such as Democracia Nacional oppose these practices and call for the repatriation of all illegal immigrants. Artists such as La Mari de Chambao and María Dolores Pradera spoke out for efforts to enforce the law but help those who make a living from this activity..

These vendors have been involved in some altercations, such as the attack on a tourist in Barcelona. In 2018, after the death of Senegalese top seller Mame Mbaye on Calle del Oso in the Lavapiés neighborhood in Madrid when he was being chased by the police, groups of top manteros protested and staged clashes with neighbours, destruction of street furniture, attacks on the police and damage to neighboring cars. In another operation by the Mozos de Escuadra in Salou, the Senegalese mantero Mou died as a result of a alleged fall from a balcony after a raid in search of counterfeit materials. The death caused protests and riots.

In 2017, the Association of the Popular Union of Street Vendors of Barcelona created the project of a clothing line called Top Manta, which was financed by donations to employ topmanteros in the design, manufacture, and sale of original clothing. In 2018 Top Manta trade name was denied to the promoters by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, mainly due to the allegations made by legal producers such as the Association for the Defense of the Brand, which argued that such recognition could legitimize what is an illegal activity.

Civil organizations have stated that behind the use of the concept "top blanket" racist and xenophobic attitudes are covered up.

Legal framework

In 1995 the Spanish Criminal Code in its articles 270, 271 and 272 established that the persecution of the sale of counterfeit materials would be carried out with a request from a party. A reform to the same code in 2003 established that the constant or occasional sale of counterfeit materials would result in imprisonment and that the conduct would be punished as a crime and prosecuted ex officio. In said reform there was lobbying by the General Society of Authors and Publishers of the country, which reported an increase in its sales in 2004 due, among others, to actions against topmanteros. From 2003 to 2010, as a consequence of the reforms, some 550 topmanteros were jailed.^{[citation needed]}

In 2010, a new reform to article 270 of the penal code removed the top manta as a crime and established fines alleging a principle of proportionality in the real consequences of this illegal distribution channel and campaigns of civil society associations and meetings of firms. In 2015, a reform supported by members of the Popular Party returned the criminal nature and the prison sentence to the top manta, by reforming article 153.3.

After the death of the Senegalese mantero Mame Mbaye in 2018, which occurred in the Lavapiés neighborhood in Madrid, the Podemos party seeks to return to the punishment with a fine if the proceeds from the sale are less than 400 euros.