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The Centre has asked states to share all
information related to music and film piracy as efforts to
curb the menace by ground-level law enforcement authorities
“is not reflected in a consolidated manner.
In a letter to all chief secretaries, I&B secretary Navin
B Chawla has asked the states to direct all district magistrates
and superintendents of police to include anti-piracy activities
and data on goods seized and raids conducted in a monthly
activity report to the chief secretaries.
According to Mr Chawla, the I&B ministry has been receiving
several representations from the industry on loss of revenue
due to piracy. While the Centre had already initiated several
measures to combat piracy, the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
provided ample safeguards against violation.
Yet, the effectiveness of the law lies in its enforcement
which falls within the purview of the state governments, Mr
Chawla pointed out in his letter.
If a regular update — say quarterly — was given
and all information collated at a single place, it would enable
both the states and the Centre to review the action and provide
pointers for fresh initiatives, Mr Chawla said.
The move comes in the wake of a series of meetings held in
the I&B ministry with representatives from HRD, revenue
department, department of information technology and home.
The NDA government had initiated work on an optical disc
law which is being pursued by this government as well.
Under such a legislation, it would become mandatory for VCD/DVD
manufacturers to add a unique identification number on original
products.
Simultaneously, several public awareness seminars are being
organised by industry bodies as well as the Indian Institute
of Mass Communication on the subject.
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