New Delhi: With the film industry facing losses of up to Rs. 20,000 crore every year due to piracy, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has taken strong steps to check film piracy in the country.
After the Parliament passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 1952 during this year’s Monsoon Session, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has established an institutional mechanism of Nodal Officers to receive complaints against piracy and direct the intermediaries to take down pirated content on digital platforms.
As of now there is no institutional mechanism to directly take action on pirated filmic content except legal action under Copyright Act and IPC. With the proliferation of internet and almost everyone interested to watch filmic content for free, there has seen a boom in piracy. The above action would allow instant action by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in case of piracy and will provide relief to the industry.
Speaking about the Bill in the Parliament, Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur had stated that the Act aimed to curb film piracy, a measure which has been a long standing demand of the film industry. The Act was amended after 40 years to incorporate provisions against film piracy, including digital piracy after the last significant amendments were made in 1984.
The amendment includes strict punishment of minimum 3 months imprisonment and fine of Rs. 3 lakh which can be extended up to 3 years imprisonment and fine upto 5% of the audited gross production cost.
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