Mumbai
Piracy is giving Bollywood film-makers sleepless nights. The Rs 3,000-crore Hindi film industry loses nearly Rs 1,000 crore annually to piracy.
Updated : Nov 21, 2013, 01:44 PM IST
MUMBAI: Piracy is giving Bollywood film-makers sleepless nights. The Rs 3,000-crore Hindi film industry loses nearly Rs 1,000 crore annually to piracy, according to studies by the Television and Film Producers Guild of India and Yes Bank.
The domestic home video market was the worst affected, losing Rs 490 crore to piracy in 2004, according to the Yes Bank report. This is a significant market for producers as it provides revenue long after a film’s release.
Piracy involves copying the film in violation of intellectual property rights and reproducing it illegally for sale at cheap rates. Legislation to counter piracy in India includes the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, and the Copyright Act, 1994. India is also a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the Universal Copyright Convention.
Nevertheless, piracy continues unabated and many in Bollywood feel that law enforcement is weak. As Hiren Gada, vice-president of Shemaroo Video, points out:
“A person accused of audio or video piracy in our country is out on bail the following day.” But the police have a different take: “The fault lies with the film industry. Pirated CDs are made from master CDs film-makers send abroad for distribution. Film-makers should take more care to prevent unauthorised access to master CDs,” says Sanjay Apranti, deputy commissioner of police.
Others say the film industry lacks a unified voice to oppose piracy. “We do lobby, but there is a cable industry which is more powerful. The government seems to be supporting cable operators and big channels,” says Pehlaj Nilhani, president of the Association of Motion Pictures and Television Programme Producers.
A delegation representing the film industry called upon home minister R R Patil recently, asking him to include audio and video piracy under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers and Drug Offenders Act 1981, and seek recourse to the Goonda Act for such offences.