Category: International

MUMBAI: Marking a new strategy in combating rampant piracy plaguing the sector, Spain‘s newly installed center-right government has passed the anti-download law.
 
The law has been designed to “protect the owners, creators and other rights holders rights against the profitable sacking of their assets on illegal downloading websites,” government spokesperson Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said.

Santamaria said a commission of intellectual property would decide whether to shutter a website violating the law.
 
“I think it is a quite a gesture that it has passed so quickly. And very positive,” Spanish Film Academy President and veteran distributor of Alta Films Enrique Gonzalez Macho has reportedly said. “If it wasn‘t approved until now it‘s because it was because they didn‘t want to,” he added.

It‘s noteworthy that the center-right Popular Party (PP) resolved the problem of the infamous Sinde Law, named for the Socialist Culture Minister who left office last week and staked her reputation on the anti-piracy measures, but met with energetic resistance from Internet consumer groups.

The government also eliminated a controversial measure called the digital canon, that taxed all electronics, CDs, DVDs, MP3, MP4, etc to cover the costs of anticipated private copy and pay for authors‘ rights.

MUMBAI: It is the last day of the week and also the year.

In the entire year the film industry sold 1.28 billion tickets in North America, according to Hollywood.com the lowest since 1995. That was good for $10.2 billion in box office revenue down 3.5 per cent from last year.
 
Experts aver that the disappointing results came from a combination of a weak economy and expanding home entertainment options. Spiking ticket prices have also played a role with average ticket prices rising more than 80 per cent since 1995 and jumped to $7.96 from $6.88 in the last four years.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II ranked as the highest-grossing film in North America this year after raking in more than $381 million followed by Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Twilight: Breaking Dawn.

MUMBAI: Washington-based Library of Congress has announced that 1994‘s smash hit Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks is among the 25 films that have been chosen to be preserved in the National Film Registry this year.

Among the films are two films The Cry of the Children and A Cure for Pokeritis, both made in 1912. Another film from the silent era is Charlie Chaplin‘s first full-length feature The Kid.

Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, the Librarian of Congress names 25 films those are ‘culturally, historically or aesthetically‘ significant every year. This year as many as 2,228 films were nominated.
 
“These films are selected because of their enduring significance to American culture,” Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said in a statement.

“Our film heritage must be protected because these cinematic treasures document our history and culture and reflect our hopes and dreams,” he added.
 
Also in the list are the animated Disney classic Bambi, The Big Heat, The Silence of the Lambs, The 1953 made War of the Worlds will also be preserved along with Porgy and Bess, Stand and Deliver and John Ford‘s epic Western The Iron Horse.

Lesser known films were chosen for their significance to the art. Among these are A Computer Animated Hand by Pixar Animation Studios co-founder Ed Catmull.

Making into the list will also be notable documentaries like Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment, Growing Up Female and The Negro Soldier.