MOTION PICTURE DIST. ASSOCIATION (India) Pvt Ltd

An initiative to stop camcord piracy, the major source of Indian film piracy, was jointly launched yesterday by Motion Picture Association of America CEO and Chairman Dan Glickman, PVR Cinemas CEO Amitabh Vardhan, and Adlabs COO Tushar Dhingra. Called the ‘Make a Difference’ campaign, the initiative sets up a series of anti-camcord training sessions for theater employees across the country. Fame Adlabs, Fun Republic, and other cinemas will also be part of this nationwide training initiative to raise awareness of unauthorized recordings in cinemas.

“Piracy is a global menace, more than 90% of newly released movies that end up appearing illegally on the streets and on Internet sites originate from illegal copies made in cinemas. With the advancement of technology, piracy is getting a boost but the same technology can also be used in order to curb the spread. The BIG Cinemas team firmly stands behind this MPAA initiative which takes proactive action to curb camcord piracy and we hope that the antipiracy laws are more steadfastly enforced in India.” said Tushar Dhingra.

Amitabh Vardhan remarked, “Like every business, the motion picture industry relies on its profits to invest in future products. Movie piracy results in fewer movies being financed, which means jobs are not created and local goods and services – such as cinema tickets - are not purchased. Movie piracy is not a victimless crime and it robs local businesses of a livelihood and the capacity to provide local employment.”

“As we continue to release more Hollywood titles in India, the number of camcords coming out of the country is likely to rise,” said Dan Glickman on his trip to India from the United States. “However, while piracy – particularly camcorder source piracy – is damaging to the movie business, it need not be inevitable. We are sure that the ‘Make A Difference’ training package for cinema staff will go a long way in helping them prevent camcording, identify camcorders as well as assist enforcement authorities when they are caught making these recordings.”

The announcement took place at Adlabs’ Odeon BIG Cinemas Multiplex in Delhi.

The Motion Picture Dist. Association (India) Pvt. Ltd. (MPDA) is a wholly owned local office of the Motion Picture Association, and represents the interests of the American motion picture industry in India. MPDA works closely with local industry, government, law enforcement authorities and educational institutions to protect the film and television industry.

According to the US India Business Council/Ernst & Young 2008 report on “The Effects of Counterfeiting and Piracy on India’s Entertainment Industry,” the Indian film industry lost US $959 million and 571,896 jobs due to piracy.

A comprehensive study aimed at producing a more accurate picture of the impact that piracy has on the film industry including, for the first time, losses due to internet piracy, recently calculated that the MPA studios lost US$6.1 billion to worldwide piracy in 2005. About US$2.4 billion was lost to bootlegging*, US$1.4 billion to illegal copying* and US$2.3 billion to Internet piracy. Of the US$6.1 billion in lost revenue to the studios, approximate US$1.2 billion came from piracy across the Asia-Pacific region, while piracy in the U.S. accounted for US$1.3 billion.

In 2006, the MPA’s operations in the Asia-Pacific region investigated more than 30,000 cases of piracy and assisted law enforcement officials in conducting nearly 12,400 raids. These activities resulted in the seizure of more than 35 million illegal optical discs, 50 factory optical disc production lines and 4,482 optical disc burners, as well as the initiation of more than 11,000 legal actions.

*Bootlegging: Obtaining movies by either purchasing an illegally copied VHS/DVD/VCD or acquiring hard copies of bootleg movies.

*Illegal copying: Making illegal copies for self or receiving illegal copies from friends of a legitimate VHS/DVD/VCD.

*Internet piracy: Obtaining movies by either downloading them from the Internet without paying or acquiring hard copies of illegally downloaded movies from friends or family.

*Internet piracy: Obtaining movies by either downloading them from the Internet without paying or acquiring hard copies of illegally downloaded movies from friends or family.

The MPA Member Companies include: