Launching the application developed by the AP Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC), Nancy J. Powell, US ambassador to India, said: “A report on ‘The Effects of Counterfeiting and Piracy on India’s Entertainment Industry’ estimates the Indian film industry lost 5,71,896 jobs and $959 million to piracy.” IMC was spearheaded by the Anti-Video Piracy Cell (AVPC) of APFCC with the support of the US consulate general, Hyderabad.
Speaking on the occasion, the organisers said every year because of piracy there was an estimated loss of $18.2 billion globally. Some members of the Telugu film industry expressed anguish at the rapid spread of video piracy since 1999 when the camcorder became rampant. “Due to piracy, nearly 800 theatres across the state were closed down in the last few years,” film producer Sham Prasad Reddy said.
Pirates are challenging investigators by moving from pirated video CDs to making the movie available online. The APFCC members said the new application helps informants alert APFCC about the source of piracy (either online or CD) and the concerned officials would swing into action and nab the pirates. The alerts by public through the Indian Movie Cop would be shared with the Crime Investigation Department (CID) to crackdown on the pirates.
The Indian Movie Cop or IMC is an application that can be downloaded free into smart mobile phones using either WI-FI or GPRS Internet facilities. It is available on Mac’s App store or Google and supported by Android, iOS and other popular mobile operating systems. A registered user can report piracy in real time in any of eight Indian languages whereas a non-registered user can access movie related news or buy tickets online. Additional director-general (CID) T Krishna Prasad added that this was the first version of checking piracy by getting information from movie goers. The next step would be to get admissible evidence for prosecution.
The informants would be given rewards for sharing valuable information about the pirates. Prasad said efforts would be made to curb piracy so that “no bad money is earned for the purpose of anti-social activities”. Tollywood was represented at the function by actor Jr NTR, director Rajamouli, producers Rama Naidu, Dil Raju, Ramesh Prasad, Sham Prasad Reddy and others. (The Times of Indiaand The Hindu)
2 Comments
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mobile phone best seller this year. What is your bet? The waterproof Sony xperia z? The sophisticated nexus 4? The windows phone of Nokia Lumia? The genuine HTC One? The smooth and elegance blackberry z10? or the One thats Started it all the iPhone 5? and last its rivalry the Samsung galaxy s4? For more great mobile phones specification and features take a look for samsung galaxy note price comparison and what is the most latest trending today in the market.