[Commons-Law] Andhra Pradesh :Special court for trial of video piracy cases

[Prashant Iyengar]

*Date:03/01/2008* *URL:
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/03/stories/2008010350070100.htm*
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Andhra Pradesh <http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/03/21hdline.htm>

* Special court for trial of video piracy cases *
 — A file photo

* Dicey business: With piracy eating into the films' collections, producers
have to be satisfied with just the first week's rush. *

HYDERABAD: It's a game of technology versus creativity. And the Telugu film
industry is the obvious loser in this game. Nowadays, the pirated version of
any movie hits the market within a week after the movie release. The Telugu
film industry suffers a loss of Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 crore, according to a
survey conducted by Motion Pictures Association (MPA) of US and AP Film
Chambers of Commerce (APFCC).

Film producer Shyam Prasad Reddy told newsmen on Wednesday that despite
serious efforts of the movie industry to check the problem, piracy menace
continued to blight the industry. He was speaking at the inaugural function
of the special court for trial of video piracy cases in Hyderabad.

This is for the first time that a dedicated court has been set up to handle
piracy cases. "Within a week of a movie release, its pirated version floods
the market. In our anti-piracy cell, there are 60 retired police officers
helping police to check 50,000 video shops in State," Mr. Reddy said.

Presently, there are over 6,000 video-piracy cases pending in courts and
since 2005, the number of convictions is a paltry 27. "We started an
anti-piracy drive three years ago and since then the going has been tough.
APFCC is collaborating with MPA to chalk out new strategies to curb piracy.
This is the first court in India to exclusively deal with piracy cases," Mr.
Reddy claimed.

Between May, 2005 and December, 2007, the number of piracy cases reported
from Hyderabad is 403 while throughout the State, it is at 4,687 cases. The
number of accused arrested for piracy is 4,799 in the State.

"These numbers are paltry compared to the overall impact piracy has on the
film industry. If curbed, it would have a huge impact on the GDP of the
State. Over 900 piracy cases have been reported from Vijayawada alone," said
Chief Co-ordinator of Anti Video Piracy Wing of AP Film Chambers P. Keshav
Reddy.

The new court was inaugurated by High Court Judge Justice T. Meena Kumari.
President of Metropolitan Criminal Court's Bar Association D. Ram Reddy and
Metropolitan Sessions Judge S. Govindarajulu were present.
* *

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