Have you been selling movies you recorded on your camera? or are you uploading them on the internet for free? If you are, then it’s imperative that you read further…
With over 1000 movies produced every year; India has a thriving film industry. It’s also one of the largest markets in the world for movies, which also makes it the biggest market for pirated content. Major titles get pirated and distributed in the black market as soon as it’s released either for free or for as low as a dollar or ₹ 74. This not only results in loss of revenue for many producers but also makes piracy lucrative.
Camcording Piracy
India’s Managing Director of Motion Picture Distributors’ Association, Uday Singh quoted that, “Content theft or piracy in the film industry originates from ‘camcording’ in cinema halls. The Indian film industry loses around Rs 18,000 crore ($2.7 billion) and over 60,000 jobs every year because of piracy.”
The major cause for pirating movies is its ease in availability which is within a few hours from its release. According to the estimates, about 90% of pirated releases can be traced back to camcorders or smartphone recordings.
Piracy Law
Towards preventing unauthorized recording, copying, and distribution of pirated content, the Indian government put forward a proposal to amend the Cinematograph Act and protect the local film industry.
On February 6, 2019, Sitanshu Kar, Principal Spokesperson for the Government of India announced that the amendments to the 1952 Cinematograph Act have been passed by the Union Cabinet.
Stiff Sentence and a Huge Fine
As per the amendments, no person is authorized to use audio or video recording devices to record or distribute a movie without the written and explicit permission of copyright holders. The proposed punishment included a 3 years jail term and/or a fine of up to $14,000/Rs. 10,00,000. This rather severe punishment is expected to act as a deterrent to pirates and would-be pirates.
Will it Completely Eradicate Piracy?
While the Media & Entertainment industry has received this news with great enthusiasm hoping it will curtail piracy, popular torrent sites like TamilRockers seem unperturbed and continue business as usual. While this law is a welcome move and might deter pirates, it’s unlikely that it will completely put an end to piracy. A concerted effort by antipiracy companies, media companies, enforcement agencies, internet companies, and implementation of strict statutory laws is the need of the hour.
What are your thoughts on the proposed law? Is it going to be effective in controlling piracy in India? Let us know in the comments below.
Do you share pirated movies or movie clips on WhatsApp or WhatsApp groups, if yes, you should read this!
As per the orders of the Delhi High Court, WhatsApp suspended two million Indian accounts and received 345 grievance reports between May 15 and June 15. Based on a lawsuit filed by Zee, it also ordered WhatsApp to take similar action on those accounts which were used to circulate pirated copies of the film “Radhe Your Most Wanted Bhai”.
An official complaint was filed with cybercrime police by Zee and then the matter was taken to the Delhi High Court requesting an interim relief for defendants who were responsible for distributing the movie online. WhatsApp informed the court that they have policies in place for copyright infringement and they suspend or terminate user accounts as per their policy.
On May 20th, Justice Sanjeev Narula granted an ex parte injunction, i.e., asked eight alleged pirates to restrain from pirating copies of the film and ordered WhatsApp to suspend two accounts whose users were yet to be identified. It also told WhatsApp that it should suspend accounts that were allegedly used to pirate movies within 24 hours as per the instructions of Zee.
On June 1st, the personal details belonging to 8 defendants were handed over to the plaintiffs by service providers. Counsel for the remaining 4 alleged pirates said that they wish for a peaceful settlement of the matter with Zee. But there was no confirmation on the same by the media company.
While WhatsApp Suspended its Users Accounts it Objected Further Suspensions
Mukul Rohatgi confirmed that while its client – WhatsApp, suspended two accounts as per the court’s order, it had concerns regarding the suspension of future accounts simply based on Zee’s allegations. He argued that WhatsApp can only be held accountable in a situation where it knows that illegal content is being distributed and still refuses to take it down. Further, with the end-to-end encryption feature of WhatsApp accounts, it claimed that it cannot see the messages of its users. Since it cannot validate the claims; this “unfettered discretion” to remove WhatsApp accounts whenever Zee chooses to is not reasonable.
Amit Sibal – the counsel representing Zee said that, since Zee is a responsible company, it would not misuse the order and it was just and proper to suspend accounts. He said that in such cases Zee could be subjected to judicial scrutiny and he also agreed for additional safeguards if it meant that order can be in place.
Justice Narula ruled that this matter would require additional consideration. But, later upon finding merit in Mr. Rohatgi arguments, the court decided that it would be appropriate for the accounts to be suspended based on the orders of the court.
This article is for those of you whose channels were brought down because of YouTube’s Copyright strike and also those of whose channels are not yet… If you’re a YouTuber, you must be aware of YouTube’s Copyright Policy. Copyright strike is a nightmare for YouTubers.
YouTube’s Copyright Policy: Know in-depth
YouTube’s copyright policy is designed to address the issues of copyright infringement and to protect the rights of content creators. YouTube makes it clear that the use of unauthorized content is unacceptable.
Three strikes against the channel and it’s gone! –Content ID is YouTube’s automated, scalable system that enables copyright owners to identify YouTube videos that include content they own. YouTube only grants Content ID to copyright owners who meet specific criteria. A database of copyright ownership is set by the content owners. Three unheeded and un‑appealed copyright strikes and YouTube could permanently delete your channel.
What is AiPlex Software Pvt. Ltd.?
AiPlex Software Pvt. Ltd, is India’s 1st online anti-piracy company that helps content owners to protect content across all digital platforms, i.e., social media, search engines, mobile apps, streaming platforms, etc., serving 200+ corporate clients with customized content protection solutions for over 13 years.
Why Does AiPlex Send Copyright Notices to YouTube Users?
Because they are engaged by content owners to protect copyrighted content in the online space – as simple as that. Now, let’s dig deeper…
AiPlex is entrusted with the task of protecting content in the online space. On YouTube, it is authorized by content owners to act on their behalf and take action against any infringement.
AiPlex sends copyright notice If the YouTuber uses:
Copyrighted music in the background
Thumbnails containing copyrighted images, posters, etc.
A whole movie/episodes/dialogues/scenes
Movie Clips (whether it is 4 sec or 40 seconds, you can’t use someone’s content without their consent)
Misuse of fair use policy (giving credits doesn’t mean it’s okay to use authorized content)
While sending a copyright notice, AiPlex (or any company for that matter) is bound to comply with YouTube guidelines and policies and provide evidence to YouTube including details such as contact information, infringing URL, and copyright certificate.
Whenever AiPlex discovers that content is being misused (intentionally or unintentionally), it intervenes and notifies the user as well as YouTube of the violation. By doing so, AiPlex ensures that the legitimate rights of content creators are safeguarded.
What Can You Do to Resolve a Copyright Strike?
Delete the video immediately and inform the complainant.
Request the complainant to retract their copyright notice.
Wait for 90 days until the copyright strike expires. Don’t repeat the same mistake again!
File a counter-notification if you think your video is removed by mistake, and it comes under fair use policy.
Drop us a line if you need help in protecting your content across the online space.
Once, when Navya was a young girl, her grandmother had narrated the story of Padmavati – a legendary Rajput queen from the 14th century. She remembered how deeply she respected this woman for her honor, valor and grace. And as crazy as this may sound – when she listened to these stories, she would dwell so deep in them that she would talk like her, behave like her, sing and dance like her! she believed she was the queen Padmavati herself. Wanting to relive these moments; she used telegram to download the copyrighted version of the film “Padmaavat”.
Well, she’s not alone. Many others like her have discovered pirated content over Telegram.
Telegram – the popular messaging app that provides users with end-to-end encryption on their chats, has become the leading source for pirated content throughout Asia. This app is generally popular amongst activists, journalists, and whistle blowers; because it allows users to conceal their identity while sharing texts, videos, and other copyrighted content.
Telegram statistics as of 2021 reveal that it was the most downloaded app on Play Store and App Store with 500 million active monthly users and 63 million plus downloads globally. It’s also rated as a popular networking app in Malaysia according to App Annie and ranks at 3rd position in India.
Telegram on Silver Mobile Phone Mockup with 3d icons
So, with these many million active users; it is the root cause of considerable revenue loss for content creators while it is the preferred platform by pirates to distribute unlicensed content.
Pirates favour Telegram because it allows them to share data in encrypted chat groups that consist of 2,00,000 plus people; which in turn attracts millions of subscribers. It also prevents internet providers, telecom providers and the platform itself from decrypting conversations. The group chat also enables users to hide their phone numbers thus helping them conceal their identity.
Let’s check out some of the ways these pirates are exploiting Telegram:
By Disguising: Due to the absence of an embedded player inside the platform – pirates can upload free videos on Telegram’s hosted cloud services, use its channels and groups to distribute text and M3U links to consumers. Further, to attract more users – pirates use recognised payment gateways such as Bitcoin, PayPal and they even add subtitles in various languages. They hide keywords pertaining to the content they have stolen and make use of code words in their messages to attract users by including references to private pirate channels.
By Strategizing: A few minutes before a live-sporting event; these pirates not only spread new channels on Telegrams with new links consisting of illegal content but
they also have back-up channels readily available to consumers in case the first link gets removed.
Abandoning Ship:Pirates even send notifications to its users stating that a Telegram channel has been suspended because of copyright and provide instruction to follow a new channel. They even ask consumers to shift to other platforms and pirate sites by sharing links to the open web or to other platforms.
Pilfering the stream:As if live streams weren’t enough, pirates offer OTT subscribers with stolen credentials, hacked IPTV emulator channels where consumers can watch live channels without requiring a set-top box, and pirated APKs.
Producers and broadcasters spend huge amounts on their content and for purchasing sports rights. They should be confident that they can cover their costs and sustain their business in the long run. So, coming up with a strategy for anti-piracy requires a meticulous, forensic, intelligence-led approach to figure out complex pirate ecosystems that exist in various layers. We need to understand trends, unravel approaches and know the pirates’ behavioural patterns to win against them. Hence, the media industry needs to collaborate with government and law enforcement agencies to come up with stricter penalties and to make use of technologies like watermarking mandatory.
Contact the experts
AiPlex prides itself in being India’s first antipiracy company with more than 12+ years of domain expertise. It has helped take down infringed content across various platforms, verify over a million URLs, detect fake websites and provide content protection solutions for over 200+ content owners.
Does your website contain pirated links – 100s of them? If yes, then your website might be removed from the search results, FOREVER.
Many countries are adopting a rightsholder-centric approach and have resorted to blocking pirate sites, sometimes permanently. This is done to clamp down on the availability of pirated movies and TV shows in search engine results.
Piracy Will Make Movies Unviable
Misuse of copyright law is nothing new; the piracy ecosystem thrives on this. Unless, aggressive enforcement of copyright by all stakeholders including major search engines are put in place, it is near impossible for the content industry to sustain itself.
Google has Zero-Tolerance to Piracy
In the first quarter of 2021, Google in its fight against piracy has processed 5-billion takedown requests from copyright holders across the globe.
Google, the dominant search engine platform, uses a large number of tools and programs to fight online piracy. But there’s still room for more preventive measures that need to be taken.
Google’s anti-piracy principles primarily focus on creating more and better legitimate alternatives by guarding against abuse and providing transparency.
In accordance with India’s new IT Rules 2021, Google publishes a monthly transparency report mentioning details of users’ complaints and the actions taken thereafter.
These reports have one thing in common, i.e., over 90% of requests are only about infringement of intellectual property rights (IPR).
Content owners can submit copyright infringement claims via Google’s webforms. Once the search engine giant receives valid takedown requests, it goes through verification for infringements and then removal. On average, over 500 sites are delisted each week from Google’s server.
Additionally, Google has an ‘automated detection process’ in place that quickly delists content that violates its Community Guidelines and Content Policies.
The Latest Russian Memorandum has Shaken the Piracy World with its Aggressive Measures.
Russia’s rightsholder-driven Anti-Piracy Memorandum just got tougher than ever. The Memorandum 2.0 mentions a new policy that will permanently remove sites from search results containing more than 100 links to pirated films and TV series.
This change will be a huge obstacle to the whole piracy ecosystem. More and more countries will take sufficient measures to hit the pirates where it hurts the most. A laudable measure that might deliver piracy a death blow!
India’s Measures to Tackle Digital Piracy:
The Government of India (GOI) has been actively taking part in protecting content owners’ intellectual property rights.
A few Govt. measures to prevent online piracy in India over the years include the Copyright Act of 1957, Copyright (Amendment) Act (2012), National Intellectual Property Rights Policy (2016), Cell of IPR Promotion & Management, Cinematograph Amendment Bill (2019), and John Doe Order.
Copyright Act of 1957 gives the owners their rights on their intellectual properties – literary, artistic, musical, & dramatic work.
Copyright (Amendment) Act mentions the inclusion of section 65A & 65B to protect content & take punishable action against copyright violations.
National Intellectual Property Rights Policy educates the audience by spreading knowledge on IPR awareness, creation, commercialization, & enforcement of the rules.
Cell of IPR Promotion & Management ensures that the IPR related issues are being addressed as per the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy.
With the Cinematograph Amendment Bill in place, anyone who is found guilty is sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment & a fine of up to ₹10 lakhs.
John Doe Order allows rightsholders to issue notice & file a prima facie case against infringers.
While the Govt. and companies like Google are working at preventing piracy, anti-piracy firms like AiPlex have been doing an excellent job in combatting this threat and beating pirates at their own game! To know more about how to protect your content with a techno-legal approach that has stood the test of time, please drop us a line.
There are more than 40 OTT platforms in India that offer original and exclusive content. At least 5 new OTT platforms are launched every month. Why then do customers in India still seek out and watch pirated content?
You Don’t Find What You Need
Take the case of Naveen, a middle-level executive. He subscribes to Amazon Prime and Sony Liv but then many of his favorite films and TV shows are not available on either of these platforms.
These OTT platforms compete with each other by offering “exclusive content” and “original programming” and that is exactly where the problem lies. It is not financially viable or practical to subscribe to all OTT platforms.
With this multitude of new entrants in the OTT space, content aggregation has become fragmented. It is impossible for any individual platform to provide enough choice to end consumers. In the absence of a legal one-stop shop for popular movies, TV shows, web series, sporting events, etc., people resort to pirated content.
Pirates Offer This Choice
However, pirates who run illegal streaming services aggregate content from multiple video streaming services into a single interface. Open-source video players and the same technology that OTT platforms use make this possible.
What Should OTT Platforms Do?
In addition to implementing a slew of security measures like DRM, watermarking, fingerprinting, etc., they should enlist the services of companies that offer customized anti piracy solutions for OTT platforms.
India’s First Online Anti Piracy Company Could be That Choice
We at AiPlex are not only pioneers in providing anti piracy solutions to Bollywood theatrical releases and the top OTT platforms in India but have also stood the test of time by protecting OTT content way back from 2010. All the big names in the OTT space bank on us.
We understand the piracy ecosystem like no other and are able to disrupt piracy at a visceral level.
People find unlicensed content invariably through search engines and social media platforms. Through an SEO-optimized process of detecting, reporting, and removing infringing listings instantly, we create a clean SERP environment.
Our tie-up with payment gateways, our legal expertise, connection with ISPs, coordination with enforcement agencies ensures that you make the most of your content portfolio and its monetization potential.
