Introduction:
Piracy signifies the unauthorized replication of a copyrighted work that is sold at extensively lower rates in the market. Because of the simplified access to technology over the years, piracy has become more widespread. For example, pirated CDs are available off-the-shelf at lower prices, making music piracy a simple affair. As the technology continues to advance, it has also provided numerous means to simplify the piracy of digital media content and has evolved methods of piracy into streaming-based. Streaming piracy is perhaps the greatest threat confronting broadcasters today, in economic as well as technological terms.
There is no dispute of the fact that the number and diversity of threats towards media content are growing year after year. This is attributed to the international reach of the online content system, enabling more opportunities to monetize illegal services through piracy. Many third parties and contractors are a part of the content lifecycle, including corporate networks, websites, apps, and subscribers’ personally identifiable information to name just a few. It is effortless to stream content anywhere or to rip content. A few dollars can easily grant access to an online account regulator, which can easily give even a novice hacker, the competence to test multiple username and password combinations and retain original digital content ready to be pirated.
The piracy of digital media content is protected under the ambit of Media Law. It is an umbrella law that provides a structure for dispute resolution related to film, television, digital media, advertising, publishing, marketing, and other areas of the media. Therefore, Media is the term inter-alia used as Press to denote the print & electronic information carriers, including the News Papers & Magazines, Radio, Television, and Internet as Media. Various statutes that fall within Media Law, such as the Cinematography Act, 1952 and Copyright Act, 1957, to combat against piracy of original media content and grant protection to the same.
Media regulation aids in imposing prohibitions against piracy through frameworks, and enacting protection laws concerning intellectual property rights, etc. There are various ways through which media piracy can occur. It could be through software by just duplicating original content to another unauthorized system, or in cinematography through live-recordings of the original content resulting in further broadcasting of it using indefinite means, without the legitimate permission from creators of the motion picture, or the music, or the games. Not only does piracy degrade the authenticity of the original work, but it also results in enormous financial losses to the owners and broadcasters across the globe.
The Piracy Reforms in Media Law
In India, though there is no definite law to control the rampant piracy, it is administered under the Copyright Act, 1957. It grants protection to all kinds of literary, artistic, musical, and dramatic work. It also protects the interest of makers and distributors of motion pictures. The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 was enacted which had the key objective to curb the rapid increase in online piracy in India. Section 65B protects sensitive information through the Information Rights Management, against the unauthorized distribution of the content on pirated websites imposing imprisonment and a fine on the offender.
Additionally, Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 grants protection against the distribution of illegal copies of pirated content online. It makes piracy of content online a punishable offense with imprisonment extending up to three years and with a fine not more than INR 2 lacs. Furthermore, Section 65A was enacted through the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 which provides safeguards concerning the Technological Protection Measure or commonly known as the TPM. The Technological Protection Measure is used against the breach of such copyright by the owners or creators of the original content. A breach of copyright of the content through evasion of the TPM is considered as a punishable offense under this provision with imprisonment up to two years or with a fine.
It is evident that piracy of media content has immensely affected the revenues of legitimate copyright holders and deteriorated the overall economic value of media content of the country. The incompetence of the copyright holders in recognizing the actual perpetrators behind infringements of such rights has increased the level of piracy. The presence of digital media globally has also resulted in a multiplicity of pirated content online. In the wake of these rising threats, the Government of India has introduced several reforms in Media Law at various levels to curb piracy. These reforms include the following:
CIPAM: The Cell for Intellectual Property Rights Promotion and Management[1]
Under the wings of the National IPR Policy of 2016, the Government of India created the Cell for Intellectual Property Rights Promotion and Management (CIPAM) under several units of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This was a great measure for the promotion of knowledge and strengthening the implementation of Intellectual Property Rights. CIPAM, accompanied by the Film and Television Producers Guild of India with Viacom18, has crusaded against media content piracy through numerous educational and insightful videos on anti-piracy.
Members of the film fraternity added more value to this initiative in the eyes of the general public. Broadcast of Cartoons was for the children’s awareness initiative with the motto of ‘say no to piracy’. Because of all these efforts, CIPAM and Maharashtra Cyber Digital Crime Unit (MCDCU) successfully suspended approximately 300 pirated websites since 2016. The CIPAM and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) also created an Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Toolkit for Police to assist the officers in dealing with IP-related offenses, specifically in copyright-related piracy.
National Intellectual Property Rights Policy, 2016[2]
In the year 2016, the Government of India initiated the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy. The prime intention behind this initiative was to create widespread awareness on Intellectual Property Rights formation, commercialization, and implementation as per the new reforms. The policy has defined pirated copyright goods in the same light as under the TRIPS agreement. The goods which are the copies made without the consent of the rightful holder or the person duly authorized by the rightful holder in the country of production, and which are made directly or indirectly from an article where the making of that copy would have constituted an infringement of a copyright or a related right under the law of the country of importation are to be treated as pirated copyright goods.
The principal objective of this policy is to create awareness of the benefits of Intellectual Property Rights in economic, social, and cultural attributes, among the population of young adults and teenagers who are the prime customers of pirated media content. This is aimed to inculcate the understanding of Intellectual Property Rights, their importance, and the impact of their infringement on the rights of the owner and the wealth of the nation. The aim is to further simplify the difference between the circulation of legal and illegal networks at a broader scale in society and assist them in understanding how they are unintentionally responsible for encouraging piracy at global levels.
Moreover, the policy aims to execute the amendments made under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 for additional provisions concerning the illegitimate recording of the films and other forms of motion pictures. Besides this, the policy expresses the need for knowledge, strict implementation, and a well-constructed system to combat both offline and online media content piracy within a large group of people. Following are the additional steps that were taken to handle the problem of rampant piracy.
- The improvement in expertise, direction, and supervision among multiple groups for escalating the implementation measures.
- Distribution of information to hold suitable training on IP-Laws at national and international levels.
- Conducting a study on the impact of IPR violations on various sectors.
- Constant analysis of jurisdiction among the executing authorities.
- Providing solutions through suitable expertise for restricting the scope of digital media piracy.
National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal[3]
The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, has initiated the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to enable the citizens to effortlessly register a complaint about cybercrimes of all nature, including online piracy complaints registered under different headings.
Conclusion
Online media content piracy has increased with the speedy rise in technologies. Both the Central and State Governments have aimed at implementing various anti-piracy reforms and enacted amendments in the Copyright Act to protect the intellectual rights of the rightful holders[4]. To make India a piracy-free nation and a growing IP economy, additional anti-piracy policies initiation. It is also vital to have trouble-free and inexpensive access to the original media content to prevent the users from switching back to pirated content, whether online or offline. These initiatives were the need of the hour and have proven to be fruitful to great degrees. In the era of the digital world, it is not possible to completely eradicate piracy because it is readily available and cheap, besides most users have become well-adjusted towards it. Nonetheless, these reforms may lead to more awareness among customers about the pirated content are using.
References:
[1] CIPAM, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Govt. of India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, (Oct. 20, 2021, 9:00 AM) https://dpiit.gov.in/
[2] National IPR Policy, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, (Oct. 20, 2021, 12:00 PM) https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1557418
[3] National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, Govt. of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, (Oct. 20, 2021, 17:30 PM) https://cybercrime.gov.in/
[4] Niharika Agrawal, Anti-piracy reforms with respect to media law, iPleaders (Oct. 19, 2021, 18:00 PM) https://blog.ipleaders.in/anti-piracy-reforms-respect-media-law/
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