Source: IMI DATA

SUMMARY OF WARNER SEIZURES

Titles seized

Great Race, Species III, Out Break, Deep Blue Sea, Tremors, Tom & Jerry, Casper, Die Hard, Super Man, Evil Dead II, Anna Polis, X Men, King Kong, Terminator, God Father, Police Story, The Omen, Slither, Jurassic Park II, Valentine, Cats & Dogs, Tequila Sunrise, Big Boss, Kill Bill, Bragula III, Spot, Jaws II, Narniya, Batman, Lines, The Client, The Mummy, Matrix, Golden Eye, Island, Hell Boy, Jumanji, Enter the Dragon, Die Hard, Wood Stock, Mysitc Rover, Van Healsing Returns, Hulk, Decoy, Heat, Ben Hur, Casablanca, The Last Boy Scout, Mad Max, Little Women, The Color Purple, Summer of 42, Mickey Blue Eyes etc.

Mr.V.J.Lazarus in an exclusive interview with our reporter at the Rennaiscance, Mumbai on the 28th of March 2007.

Following on the heels of MIDEM 2007 held in France, it was the turn of the Indian media fraternity to get together at FICCI Frames 2007 to discuss and debate the changing rules of piracy and the increasingly tough job of keeping a check on it. The session on IPR , chaired by the IMI President Vijay Lazarus along with a host of Indian and international speakers cast a broad view on the progress made as well as the roadmap for the coming year.
Here is an exclusive interview given by Mr. Lazarus discussing the Indian Music Iindustry in particular and the challenges ahead.

Excerpts:

Q : FICCI FRAMES has served as a platform for anti piracy & IPR discussions. What have been the gleanings from such a forum?

A: I have been coming to the FRAMES for the past eight years now. Our basic interest as an industry has always been to support such a platform where we could meet the fraternity and collect and distribute a database of our activities in the form of business. Unfortunately in India we do note have many such opportunities. For instance, internationally, we have MIDEM in France, LONDON CALLING in the West and there is MUSIC MAGAZINE in Hong Kong.

In India however such forums are very few. In fact, I must mention that as part of our commitment to such a forum we were the first sponsors for FRAMES where we acted as sole sponsors. So yes, we are very committed to this forum.

Q: IPR and anti-piracy issues are being widely discussed at international platforms as well. As an advocate of anti-piracy you are bound to be happy about this development, but does it worry you that piracy has increased to such debatable proportions.

A: Oh YES. Piracy, I always like to say is like the cancer of the industry. It is something that can drive the industry to its death. Countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka are already battling against it. Piracy has also wiped out the legitimate industry in China and Malayasia. I believe that the only way to fight Piracy is to enforce the LAW. There are no other short cuts. We have to understand that piracy is like a murder. It is a heinous crime.
You can’t eradicate it completely. It exists because it generates illegal money for you. Think of it this way, here is a method by which one can make money on original content without making any effort.

Q: Some people argue that a country like India needs cheaper products. Would cheaper products really eradicate piracy? What is your opinion?

A: There are 2 issues here. First of all pricing has never deterred piracy. In fact the CD’s, DVD’s, MP3’s available in India are really cheaper than anywhere else in the world. We have brought down the prices to the minimum possible level.

The other point is that price cannot overcome any piracy. Even if you go down to the lowest level on MRP, the pirate can still match you and go lower. He is not spending any money or effort on the content. So for the pirate to stop his activity he will have to lose money and much more money than it costs him to obtain pirated goods.

Q: Coming back to IMI, there has been a common consensus over the fact that raids are cost intensive. Also digital technology has meant that piracy is spreading at a faster rate. Given this, has the IMI & other governing bodies looked at different methodologies to curb piracy?

A: Again, technology does not curb piracy. Pirates still find other ways to duplicate content through recording of the CD. So unfortunately, technology fails us here.

Every stage of technology has only accelerated the pace of piracy. Apart from raids and punitive measures there are no other methods in place. If you consider piracy a crime, then thief has to be caught, punished or fined. There has to be a deterrent and a deterrent comes only through law, through the police and punitive action by the judiciary. Yes it is cost intensive and that’s why we have been talking to various bodies. And we want them all to come onboard so we can sensitize all the arms of the government- be it police force, income tax, excise, sales tax or municipality. A collective action against crime needs to be undertaken to raise the awareness level. For now the method will still have to remain the same.

Q: This collective action that you talk about -is this also what you mean by the National Task Force that the IMI has been formulating and working towards?

A: (Says emphatically) In fact it was here at FICCI that the idea for a National Task Force was proposed with due support from our ex-prime minister I.K. Gujral. But other bodies have yet to come on board and we are trying to get them on slowly and steadily. TIME WARNER (videos) has agreed to such a proposal, so has Sony Playstations. We are now looking at software solution giants Microsoft to come and join us. Once we have this National Task Force in place, we can take more critical action and make a better impact. Completing 10,000 raids is not enough and we do not want to sit on such laurels alone. We need to do a lot more.

Q: Finally, what are the challenges that IMI & The Industry are bound to face going forward?

A: Setting up the National Task Force is the single biggest challenge that we would like to work towards on an urgent basis. We feel that with the establishment of such a force the quantum of our action will only escalate. All the government agencies have to take collective action under the law. Only then will we able to put down a stringent deterrent that will help scale down piracy.

MOBILE CHIP PIRATES

Delhi: A Mobile Chip recording unit was searched in Fatehpur, Chandni Chowk, Delhi on 7th March. 1 CD Writer, 1 DVD Writer, 1 Computer, 1 Card Reader, 4 recorded chips, 14 blank chips and 9 pirated VCDs and MP3 CDs were seized. Owner Tarun Gupta was arrested.

Chennai: A Mobile Chip recording unit was seized in Thoraipakkam, Chennai on 19th March, 18 CD Writers, 1 memory writer, 2 memory cards, 115 MP3 CDs, 1360 pirated DVDs and 150 inlay cards piracy were seized. Owner J. Sahu Ameed was arrested.

Lucknow, U.P.: 1 Computer, 5 MP3 CDs, 1 Card Reader, 2 connectors and 1 mobile Chip were recovered from a shop in Lucknow, U.P. on 31st March. Owner Amarjit Singh was arrested.

Gonda, U.P.: 1 Computer, 5 MP3 CDs, 1 Card Reader and 1 mobile chip was seized from a shop in Nawabganj, Gonda on 17th March. Owner Manoj Agarwal was arrested.

Guwahati, N.E.: 4 shops were searched at Fancy Bazaar, Dist. Guwahati on 24th March. 4 Computers, 4 memory card readers and 1 infra red was seized. 4 person were arrested.