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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.

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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.

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