[Fsf-friends] Govt against curbing piracy with policy ...

Sat Mar 29 02:06:05 IST 2008

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 Govt against curbing piracy with policy
 FICCI FRAMES 2008
 BS Reporters / Mumbai March 26, 2008

 In what is viewed as a setback for the film industry's efforts to stop
 piracy, the government today rejected the recommendations of the draft
 optical disk policy on grounds that it would lead to the creation of a
 regime of inspectors, and thus go against the grain of the
 liberalisation policy.

 For the past few months, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
 has been examining the draft optical disc law to check film piracy.

 As the draft legislation, which included a code of regulations for
 content, is being prepared by FICCI and members of the film industry
 with the initiative of the government, a positive response is
 expected.

 However, addressing the FICCI-Frames 2008 convention here today, Union
 Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Secretary Asha Swarup made it
 clear that the government was not in favour of implementing the
 recommendations.

 Acknowledging that the menace of piracy in the entertainment and media
 industry was huge, she said the problem had to be tackled by closing
 the gaps in the supply. "A possible way," she said, "is to release
 films in 'C' and 'D' class towns in digital formats."

 Swarup expressed her content with Pakistani films being released in
 India and Indian films like Taare Zameen Par making an entry into
 Pakistan. She said she hoped that with a new democratic government in
 Pakistan, more Indian films would be screened there.

 The secretary also emphasised the need to develop content for TV,
 especially for children.

 Meanwhile, the FICCI-PricewaterhouseCoopers 2008 report, released
 today, estimates the industry at Rs 51,300 crore in 2007 - a growth of
 17 per cent from Rs 43,800 crore in 2006. The Indian entertainment and
 media industry is projected to clock Rs 1,15,000 crore by 2011.

 In his address, Yash Chopra, chairman, FICCI Entertainment Committee &
 Yash Raj Films, said that Indian cinema had transcended geographical
 boundaries. However, he added: "Piracy, IP protection in the animation
 segment and censorship are hurdles that the Indian media and
 entertainment industry have to overcome."

 Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP and president of FICCI, pointed out that the
 industry today had reached a point of critical mass. "I believe this
 industry is poised to achieve the scale and size required to have
 global value and presence," he said. The challenge for the industry
 over the next few years, he said, was to become globally relevant to
 the capital markets and investors; relevant to producers and consumers
 of entertainment all over the world.

 Kunal Dasgupta, co-chairman, FICCI Entertainment Committee & CEO Sony
 Entertainment Television, said: "We are in talks with the Academy of
 Television Arts and Science in the US, which represents the popular
 Emmy Awards, and hopefully we will able to present an Indian version
 of the popular Emmy Awards by next year."

 Amit Khanna, chairman, Reliance Entertainment & FICCI Convergence
 Committee, said new digital technology would reshape the distribution
 and exhibition business.

 "On-demand entertainment will become a standard industry norm," he said.

 * * *

 FROM USIBC

 Piracy in India's Entertainment Industry Causes Huge Losses to Indian Economy

 March 27, 2008 Mumbai, India – The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC)
 has released a new study showing huge job and revenue losses to the
 Indian economy as a result of piracy in India's burgeoning
 entertainment industry. The study– 'The Effects of Counterfeiting and
 Piracy on India's Entertainment Industry'– prepared for USIBC by Ernst
 &Young India, shows as much as Rs. 16,000 crores are lost each year
 due to piracy. As many as 800,000 direct jobs are also lost as a
 result of theft and piracy, afflicting India's entertainment industry.

 Speaking at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
 (FICCI) FRAMES 'Business of Entertainment' Conference, USIBC
 President, Ron Somers, said, "This study estimates that the Indian
 entertainment industry loses some 820,000 jobs and about $4 billion
 each year to piracy. This is an enormous and unacceptable magnitude of
 loss – by any measure."

 The piracy study was commissioned as part of the USIBC-FICCI
 Bollywood-Hollywood Initiative. "This study covers film, music,
 television and video games and has been funded by the Global
 Intellectual Property Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which
 aims to highlight the value of intellectual property, as well as
 illuminate the adverse impact theft and piracy have on creativity and
 innovation. The Bollywood-Hollywood Initiative promotes the
 sustainable growth and convergence underway between the entertainment
 industries in both our countries."

 Presented with a copy of the study, FICCI Secretary General, Dr. Amit
 Mitra, said, "This study shows that the best way to make the boom in
 the Indian entertainment bigger is to stop the affliction of piracy.
 For the average Indian who wants to increase his or her chances for
 being employed in Bollywood and associated industries, fighting piracy
 is a place where all our collective efforts must start."  Dr. Mitra
 went on to point out, "The Media and Entertainment industry in India
 is an industry of the future.  India's entertainment industry already
 generates more than $11 billion annually for the country, growing at a
 combined annual rate of over 18%.  If we can stop piracy, these
 industries will grow even faster and employ more Indian workers."

 Also present at the media briefing was Ramesh Sippy, famed producer
 and director of the all-time number-one blockbuster 'Sholay'. Sippy
 said, "I know first hand the importance of fighting piracy to support
 the growth of Bollywood. I commend the USIBC-FICCI Initiative for
 enlisting all elements of the entertainment industry against piracy."

 Farokh T. Balsara, National Sector Leader, Media and Entertainment for
 Ernst & Young-India, said, "Our Mumbai office collected data for this
 study from on the ground – via direct interviews with stakeholders
 from the Bollywood entertainment industry.  We looked at the industry
 from every angle – films, music, TV, radio, and electronic games.  The
 story was the same across the board: if we can slow or stop piracy, a
 direct correlation in the generation of wealth and employment will be
 the result."

 Commenting on the USIBC-FICCI Bollywood-Hollywood Initiative, USIBC
 President Ron Somers said, "This study is only the beginning. Now that
 we have documented the job and revenue losses to the Indian
 entertainment industry from piracy, we intend to continue fighting
 piracy across the board.  We will strive to bring these findings to
 the attention of the average person in India.  We will attempt to
 enlist more effectively the U.S. and Indian governments to cooperate
 in fighting the scourge of piracy in India, as well as in the U.S. and
 worldwide. We strongly support passage by India of optical disc
 legislation that will thwart piracy in this important industry. We are
 pleased to stand shoulder to shoulder with counterparts in India to
 help protect jobs and revenues that are now being needlessly lost to
 piracy."

 Also previewed at FICCI FRAMES as a part of the Bollywood-Hollywood
 Initiative was 'Illicit – The Dark Trade' – a special documentary that
 airs world-wide, produced by National Geographic for the U.S. Chamber
 of Commerce's Global Intellectual Property Center. This
 made-for-television documentary shows that the problem of piracy is an
 epidemic affecting many sectors of world-wide dimensions.

 The U.S.-India Business Council, formed in 1975 at the request of the
 Government of India and the U.S. Government to advance U.S.-India
 commercial ties, is hosted under the aegis of the U.S. Chamber of
 Commerce. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business
 federation representing more than 3 million businesses and
 organizations of every size, sector, and region. The U.S.-India
 Business Council celebrates its 33rd Anniversary at the U.S. Chamber
 of Commerce on June 12, 2008 in Washington, D.C.

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 Frederick 'FN' Noronha   | Ym/Gmailtalk: fredericknoronha
 http://fn.goa-india.org     | fred at bytesforall.org
 Independent Journalist   | +91(832)2409490 Cell 9970157402
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