ITV

Tag: IPR

  • Govt aims at plugging loopholes that enable copyright theft

    Govt aims at plugging loopholes that enable copyright theft

    NEW DELHI: The Government has approved an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy aimed at creating a strong legal framework to protect IPR and create public awareness about the economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society.

    Policy approved by the Union Cabinet has seven objectives which include IPR Awareness: Outreach and Promotion; Generation of IPRs; Legal and Legislative Framework; Administration and Management; Commercialization of IPRs; Enforcement and Adjudication; and Human Capital Development. The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy will endeavor for a “Creative India; Innovative India’.

    The Policy recognises the abundance of creative and innovative energies that flow in India, and the need to tap into and channelise these energies towards a better and brighter future for all.

    The National IPR Policy is a vision document that aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), concerned statutes and agencies. It sets in place an institutional mechanism for implementation, monitoring and review. It aims to incorporate and adapt global best practices to the Indian scenario. This policy shall weave in the strengths of the Government, research and development organizations, educational institutions, corporate entities including MSMEs, start-ups and other stakeholders in the creation of an innovation-conducive environment, which stimulates creativity and innovation across sectors, as also facilitates a stable, transparent and service-oriented IPR administration in the country.

    The Policy recognizes that India has a well-established TRIPS-compliant legislative, administrative and judicial framework to safeguard IPRs, which meets its international obligations while utilizing the flexibilities provided in the international regime to address its developmental concerns.  It reiterates India’s commitment to the Doha Development Agenda and the TRIPS agreement.

    While IPRs are becoming increasingly important in the global arena, there is a need to increase awareness on IPRs in India, be it regarding the IPRs owned by oneself or respect for others’ IPRs. The importance of IPRs as a marketable financial asset and economic tool also needs to be recognised. For this, domestic IP filings, as also commercialization of patents granted, need to increase. Innovation and sub-optimal spending on R&D too are issues to be addressed.

    The broad contours of the National IPR Policy are a Vision Statement about an India where creativity and innovation are stimulated by Intellectual Property for the benefit of all; an India where intellectual property promotes advancement in science and technology, arts and culture, traditional knowledge and biodiversity resources; an India where knowledge is the main driver of development, and knowledge owned is transformed into knowledge shared.

    The aim is to stimulate a dynamic, vibrant and balanced intellectual property rights system in India to  foster creativity and innovation and thereby, promote entrepreneurship and enhance socio-economic and cultural development; and focus on enhancing access to healthcare, food security and environmental protection, among other sectors of vital social, economic and technological importance.

    The action by different ministries/ departments shall be monitored by The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) which shall be the nodal department to coordinate, guide and oversee implementation and future development of IPRs in India.

    Welcoming the policy, NASSCOM also appreciated the decision to hand over IPR to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. This single umbrella approach will help leverage linkages between various IP offices. The proposed Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) to be constituted under the aegis of DIPP, would be an important connection with the inventors and innovators.

    NASSCOM had in its interaction with the think tank highlighted  difficulties that companies face in monetizing intangibles like IPR and the proposal to create a ‘simple loan guarantee scheme to encourage start-ups’ based on IPRs as mortgage-able assets; financial support and securitization of IP rights for commercialization by enabling valuation of IP rights as intangible assets. 

    NASSCOM said the IT industry is committed to partner with the DIPP in the modernization efforts. Further, Periodic reviews and updates of  IP related rules, guidelines, procedures will ensure an effective IPR regime and NASSCOM is committed to work closely with the DIPP as the policy is implemented to support an innovation led Industry in India. 

  • DIPP nodal department to deal with copyright protection, Govt sets up single-window on IPR

    DIPP nodal department to deal with copyright protection, Govt sets up single-window on IPR

    NEW DELHI: Issues of copyright have been shifted to the department of Industrial Policy & Promotion of the Commerce and Industry ministry, which will be the nodal department to deal with all issues related to copyright in the country.

    This was revealed recently by DIPP Joint Secretary Rajiv Aggarwal at a seminar on ‘Managing Copyright in Publishing’ organized by FICCI along with the Department and World Intellectual Property Organization.

    Copyright has until now been the preserve of the Human Resource Development ministry and the film, music and television industries have always grudged this as they feel it should be with the Information and Broadcasting ministry.

    The programme aimed at highlighting the key issues of piracy and counterfeit in publishing was addressed among others by World Intellectual Property Organization director general Francis Gurry. The transition to digital devices and new models of content distribution has initiated a rethinking of IP and DRM regimes.

    Gurry emphasised that in the last 20 years, copyright has moved from the periphery to the centre of the economic systems. This was not just because of the increased importance of intellectual property in a knowledge economy, but it was a natural consequence of the role of the essential mechanism that governs production, distribution and consumption of knowledge works in a society.

    Emphasising the fact that India was the first signatory to the Marrakesh Treaty, Gurry highlighted that the treaty would enable national exceptions in copyright across the globe to speak to each other. This was particularly important in publishing.

    WIPO assistant director general, chief of staff in the office of the director general, Naresh Prasad emphasised that copyright was increasingly emerging as a key component of the IP landscape globally. The seminar on copyright in publishing, he said was a very timely intervention of the role that copyright would play in publishing in India. There was an urgent need to focus on enhancing awareness and outreach.

    Meanwhile, a single window interface has been unveiled by the Government for information on IPR and guidance on leveraging it for competitive advantage. The Indian IP Panorama portal sought to increase awareness and build sensitivity towards IP, among stakeholders in the SME sector, academia and researchers. The Indian IP Panorama can be accessed at http://ict-ipr.in/index.php/ip-panorama

    It was a customized version of IP Panorama Multimedia toolkit developed by World Intellectual Property Organization, Korean Intellectual Property Office and Korea Invention Promotion Association.

    The toolkit has been adapted to cater to SMEs and start-ups, especially in the ICTE sector of India based on an agreement signed between WIPO and Department of Electronic and Information Technology. The Indian IP Panorama was thus a customized version of WIPO’s original product and was in accordance with Indian IP laws, standards, challenges and needs of the Indian ICTE sector.

    The following five modules of the Indian IP Panorama have been released:
    1.   “Importance of IP for SMEs”,
    2.   “Trademark”,
    3.   “Industrial design”,
    4.   “Invention and Patent” and
    5.   “Patent Information”

    The Indian IP Panorama has been developed under the aegis of Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), in close coordination with the Indian IP office.

    Besides DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek who released the Panorama, Gurry was also present on the occasion.

    A survey of the Madrid Protocol usage by the Indian industry and a report on “Marketing Campaign in India for International Registration of Trade Marks”, was also released. The survey was conducted and the report prepared by the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore in cooperation with DIPP as part of a study funded by WIPO. The study will help the Indian industry to take advantage of the Madrid system.
     

  • DIPP nodal department to deal with copyright protection, Govt sets up single-window on IPR

    DIPP nodal department to deal with copyright protection, Govt sets up single-window on IPR

    NEW DELHI: Issues of copyright have been shifted to the department of Industrial Policy & Promotion of the Commerce and Industry ministry, which will be the nodal department to deal with all issues related to copyright in the country.

    This was revealed recently by DIPP Joint Secretary Rajiv Aggarwal at a seminar on ‘Managing Copyright in Publishing’ organized by FICCI along with the Department and World Intellectual Property Organization.

    Copyright has until now been the preserve of the Human Resource Development ministry and the film, music and television industries have always grudged this as they feel it should be with the Information and Broadcasting ministry.

    The programme aimed at highlighting the key issues of piracy and counterfeit in publishing was addressed among others by World Intellectual Property Organization director general Francis Gurry. The transition to digital devices and new models of content distribution has initiated a rethinking of IP and DRM regimes.

    Gurry emphasised that in the last 20 years, copyright has moved from the periphery to the centre of the economic systems. This was not just because of the increased importance of intellectual property in a knowledge economy, but it was a natural consequence of the role of the essential mechanism that governs production, distribution and consumption of knowledge works in a society.

    Emphasising the fact that India was the first signatory to the Marrakesh Treaty, Gurry highlighted that the treaty would enable national exceptions in copyright across the globe to speak to each other. This was particularly important in publishing.

    WIPO assistant director general, chief of staff in the office of the director general, Naresh Prasad emphasised that copyright was increasingly emerging as a key component of the IP landscape globally. The seminar on copyright in publishing, he said was a very timely intervention of the role that copyright would play in publishing in India. There was an urgent need to focus on enhancing awareness and outreach.

    Meanwhile, a single window interface has been unveiled by the Government for information on IPR and guidance on leveraging it for competitive advantage. The Indian IP Panorama portal sought to increase awareness and build sensitivity towards IP, among stakeholders in the SME sector, academia and researchers. The Indian IP Panorama can be accessed at http://ict-ipr.in/index.php/ip-panorama

    It was a customized version of IP Panorama Multimedia toolkit developed by World Intellectual Property Organization, Korean Intellectual Property Office and Korea Invention Promotion Association.

    The toolkit has been adapted to cater to SMEs and start-ups, especially in the ICTE sector of India based on an agreement signed between WIPO and Department of Electronic and Information Technology. The Indian IP Panorama was thus a customized version of WIPO’s original product and was in accordance with Indian IP laws, standards, challenges and needs of the Indian ICTE sector.

    The following five modules of the Indian IP Panorama have been released:
    1.   “Importance of IP for SMEs”,
    2.   “Trademark”,
    3.   “Industrial design”,
    4.   “Invention and Patent” and
    5.   “Patent Information”

    The Indian IP Panorama has been developed under the aegis of Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), in close coordination with the Indian IP office.

    Besides DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek who released the Panorama, Gurry was also present on the occasion.

    A survey of the Madrid Protocol usage by the Indian industry and a report on “Marketing Campaign in India for International Registration of Trade Marks”, was also released. The survey was conducted and the report prepared by the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore in cooperation with DIPP as part of a study funded by WIPO. The study will help the Indian industry to take advantage of the Madrid system.
     

  • ‘Going global is a key part of our TV content scale up plan’ : Ajit Thakur – UTV Television COO

    ‘Going global is a key part of our TV content scale up plan’ : Ajit Thakur – UTV Television COO

    With industry pundits expecting the television content industry to explode from Rs 14 billion to Rs 30 billion over the next two years, UTV Software Communications is laying the foundation to ride on this boom.

    Having slipped in the television content production business over the years, UTV’s revival strategy includes holding IPR rights for some of the content that it creates, working out a genre-specific approach, and striking partnerships with other production houses.

    The Ronnie Screwvala promoted company, which has set the pace for the Bollywood industry, is readying to develop formats and content that can travel across the globe.

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das & Anindita Sarkar, UTV Television COO Ajit Thakur explains how the company plans to scale up its content business.

    Excerpts:

    Why is it that UTV’s television content production business slipped over the years?
    A few years back, production houses started emerging as specialist content providers. While Hats Off Productions mastered comedies, Fire Works started working on thrillers and Synergy specialised in format shows.

    UTV did not take steps in this direction. We didn’t have a genre-specific approach, but continued to do a number of things. Also, good talent was lacking in the industry.

    Is UTV going to focus on specific genres as part of its revival strategy?
    Our key focus now is to specialise in different genres and develop formats for which we can hold the IPR. We have identified a need gap in reality formats and have gone into it. We are also looking at formats and content that can travel in the global marketplace. We are clear that we want to hold the rights to some of our content. That is what keeps international content companies like Endemol and FremantleMedia in strong financial health; about 70 per cent of their turnover comes from 3-4 big shows.

    Which is why you are interested in creating a property like Gandhi?
    Exactly. If you do not hold the IPR to the big properties that you create, you will never be able to cushion yourself from the cyclic downturns that every creative content company goes through. The current structure of the broadcasting business is such that there is no value model for the production houses. We are out to change that. As part of that ambition, we are producing Gandhi for India as well as the world.

    How much will the fund requirement be for this project and are you planning to strike a deal with an international broadcaster ahead of production as a de-risk strategy?
    We will have to get there, no matter what it takes. We are creating an internal research team and will have a panel of Indian and international historians. Most of the creative team will not be from the television but the film industry. We will have writers from Bollywood and the West. Since we are sure that the content will travel, we are producing it in Hindi as well as in the English language. We are in talks with US and UK broadcasters.

    Will you hold the IPR for the Indian market as well?
    We will hold the global rights while selling the Hindi version of the drama series to an Indian broadcaster. Once we have a definite fix on the story board and zero in on the cast, we will know about the costs. We haven’t worked out the budget yet but are prepared to spend on the project. It is easy to go to the Middle East and South East Asian markets. We want our content to travel to the US, UK and European markets.
    ‘If content firms do not hold the IPR, they will never be able to cushion themselves from cyclic downturns‘

    How will the basic revenue flow from the content supply to local broadcasters be taken care of?
    There is a business opportunity in soaps, reality, mythology and fantasy content. For starters, we have hit on the reality genre. We have set up the team for it and have produced EK Se Badhkar Ek for Zee TV. We will be replacing it with another reality show for the same channel. We will have Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina, a weekly dance reality show which has six leading cricketers as participants, on Colors. The game show, Cash Cab, has been developed by us on a licensed format, originally produced by Lion Television for ITV. Bindaas will be airing it from 15 September.

    We see the reality genre having the potential to travel to overseas markets as well. Our aim is to produce six reality shows by the end of this fiscal.

    Our next look will be in fiction and we will take a genre-specific approach. In fact, every six months we will get into a new genre and consolidate in that space.

    What are the genres that carry an opportunity for UTV and could be tapped?
    We are definitely not looking at the saas-bahu genre as the audience for this segment is steadily diminishing. There are thriller, comedy, fantasy and mythology genres. There is enough scope for period dramas too.

    UTV has got into co-production partnerships with different local production houses. Isn’t this the beginning of a new trend, much like what has happened in the movie business?
    Our aim is to be among the top two TV content producers in the Indian market. One way of getting there is by creating partnerships with other production houses who have a distinct content flavour. We have equal joint ventures with three players and are looking at other proposals. We have JVs with Smriti Irani Television Ltd (SITL), Windmill Entertainment with Shekhar Suman, and another with Rajesh Beri. On the Gandhi project, we are doing it with SITL.

    Going global, of course, is a key part of the scale up plan. We have another big project coming up which we feel we can take to the global arena.

    Hasn’t UTV recently started getting into TV content production in the southern languages?
    We were earlier doing only airtime sales for the Sun TV network. But recently we have got into production as well and are doing a show for Sun TV (Tamil) and Gemini (Telugu). It is not a big revenue earner for us, but is more of strategic value. Since we were doing airtime sales, it was a logical step for us to integrate it with our creative resources. Once we have 5-6 shows on Sun, it can be a big step for us.

    In a unique deal, UTV paid a minimum guarantee to NDTV Imagine for Ramayan and syndicated it to the Sun TV network of channels. Will we see more such deals?
    We are close to signing up with a broadcaster for another mythology and syndicating that content down south.

  • Music industry seeks protection of IPR, enforcement of laws

     
    Music industry seeks protection of IPR, enforcement of laws
     

    MUMBAI: Riding high on technological changes, the music industry and its affiliates in India are not seeking much intervention from the finance minister this time round, except for better enforcement of laws.

    The Indian Music Industry (IMI), the body that looks after the interests of most of the music companies in the country, says that there is not much it expects from the Union Budget. But the Phonographic Performances Limited (PPL), the licencing arm of the IMI, is looking at some concrete intervention.

    PPL CEO Vipul Pradhan believes there should be a provision in the budget to reduce the VAT on cassettes. He says, “We are hoping the government reduces the VAT on cassettes, which is 12 per cent currently. The VAT applicable on CDs is four per cent which makes it more feasible for the people to opt for CDs instead of the audio cassettes. Reducing the VAT on cassettes also at four per cent will help in their sales.”

    “Also, the government has to undertake some kind of initiative for protection of intellectual property and rights. The growth of a country is determined by and large by the sale of computer and entertainment software and piracy is killing the industry. So, it is necessary to form a separate body to protect the intellectual property and also funding is required to educate the common masses about the ill effects of piracy,” adds Pradhan.

    The governing body for the music industry down south, Simca, too is not looking for drastic changes, but a stricter adherence to prevailing laws. Simca general secretary SL Saha says, “There are no budgetary or fiscal requirements that I expect in the budget but proper enforcement of the prevailing acts to promote the industry.”

    PDM Entertainment COO Aman Anand, who recently organised the Sunburn Music Festival in Goa, wants a lowering of entertainment tax in the budget.

    Mobile content company DNS Networks is looking at tax benefits for producers and film making companies, to enable good production values in films, which in turn help mobile content get marketed profitably throughout the world. “Mobile content based on movies, including music, will get an indirect but big boost if filmmaking corporate houses can avail of these tax benefits,” says DNA Networks’ MD Devashish Mishra.

    The Internet and Mobile Association of India’s wishlist for the Union Budget recommends that the nascent e-commerce industry in the country be encouraged by the removal of service tax on online internet transactions done through credit cards, debit cards and net banking transactions, a move that might help the online music stores that have been started by some music companies and content aggregators in the country.

    The IAMAI has also recommended that the state governments be directed not to impose entertainment tax on internet and broadband services.

    People Infocom CEO Manoj Dawane says, “The Indian Mobile VAS Industry is on a growth path, and the times ahead promise opportunities that will need to be capitalized on and avenues that will have to be chartered. Given the existing scenario, we hope for a Budget that provides our space the support to make the most of the opportunities presented.

    “Telecom and media are two of the most important interrelated industries for the MVAS space. Considering both these sectors, we would look forward to the implementation of a single levy system for the telecom sector making telecom services more affordable. We would also look forward to some relief in the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT).”

    “It would be favorable for service tax regulations to be kept simple, which will result in increased compliance and greater tax collections, along with making Tax filings and administration simpler and taxpayer friendly,” adds Dawane.
  • ‘Mobiles will be the first introduction to the internet for an awful lot of people’ : Vinton G Serf – Google’s vice president and chief internet evangelist

    ‘Mobiles will be the first introduction to the internet for an awful lot of people’ : Vinton G Serf – Google’s vice president and chief internet evangelist

    Google’s Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist Vinton G Serf is regarded as one of the fathers of the internet. While in Bangalore, he shared his views, Google’s objectives and the future of the internet, with Indiantelevision.com’s Tarachand Wanvari.

     

    Excerpts:

    IPR issues – You say that Google would like to make information available everywhere globally. Recently a Belgian court passed a ruling against Google over copyright. Google has been accused of dragging its feet in bringing in technology to take care of IP rights and help fight piracy. What does Google propose to do now on this issue?

    First of all, I’d like to point out that Google does not preview the content and we don’t claim any ownership or anything like that. Our intent is to make people aware of content which is already on the network. There are issues arising when someone who pulls copyright material and someone else has put that material improperly on the network. Google is unaware of any of the copyright claims when that information shows up on the net, it was there.

     

    Our package is very much like the package that was established in the US called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

    The US DRM is not as good as the framework in the EU.

    Actually, there is some tension in here between the piracy laws and the copyright laws and there is uncertainty as to how that is going to be resolved. The European Commission is trying to figure out how to adapt their intellectual property and content protection laws to match the US DRM laws.

    Google earth has run into several problems with regards to security. Lot of concerns have been raised about sensitive locations being viewed easily. What do you propose to do about this?

    Our policy is that whenever we have an issue arising with the national authorities, we take it away. We do understand their problems, and in fact there are any number of images that have been adapted. But I do need to point out to you that the data that we are using is not ours, typically it is available for free like the Nasa Landsat. Anyone could have access to it, and so removing it from Google Earth does not necessarily solve the problem, because the imagery is there. It’s also commercially accessible, in other words if you wanted that information, particularly if someone deliberately wanted the security overhead in order to mount an attack, if they have a coherent capability to attack, they probably also may have the ability to purchase this information quite independent from Google. So the problem is more complex than taking things out of Google Earth. The problem is that a lot of the overhead imagery is widely accessible. Period.

     

    I actually do not know of the specifics of the issues here in India, I can say that for some US installations we have removed or replaced information with less resolution or in some cases actually wiped out – like the White House for example, you can’t see the roof, it’s simply been covered up digitally. So those are things where actions have been taken.

     

    We face this all the time with regards to content that is indexed in different parts of the world you’ll find governments with different views, usually the Chinese example, the one everyone brings up, but I want to mention that there are other places. For example in France and Germany, it is illegal to profit form Nazi war memorabilia, and so it is considered illegal literally to put up images of these materials. So we have to consciously remove them form the google.de and the google.fr index. We understand that and we try to work with governments.

    The way mobile penetration is going on compared to laptops and desktops, do you see the internet more as a virtual net?

    In some ways yes. I think that we’re going to see expansion in all directions 802.11, Wifi, as opposed to physical networking technology. Lots and lots of mobiles which I think will be the first introduction to the internet for an awful lot of people in the world. Their first opportunity to interact with the internet may be on a mobile device.
    ‘The ability to respond to an individual interaction, and to produce relevant advertising material in these different media is very important for us to consider‘

    As evangelist at Google, is it right for Google to acquire companies like Youtube, etc. Basically your core competency lies in developing search engines, aren’t you moving away from those core competencies?

    I disagree that we are going away from our core competencies. First of all, we acquire a lot of companies, because their technology we think is helpful. It’s true that our primary business is search and we have never lost track of that. But remember what’s driving the company right now is advertising, because advertising is how we pay for everything. And so you have to remember that the core of the business is revenue generation through target advertising. And we are very interested in all the mediums, not just the online internet, which has turned out to be wonderful for us. But that doesn’t mean that the other advertisement mediums should be ignored. They are still quite valuable.

     

    Youtube and Google video are media and so is radio. So we have been experimenting with video advertising, with audio advertising and with print advertising. Using similar kinds of techniques, the thing which is probably the most critical is the ability to produce an intervention in real time as opposed to the traditional thing where you produce a video advertisement which is a part of a television show actually prepared months or weeks ahead. The ability to respond to an individual interaction and to produce relevant advertising material in these different media is very important for us to consider.

    Could you speak on Web 2.0 and Web 3.0?

    I actually think those are two marketing terms and I sort of reject them out of hand as being overly simple. I do think however that the web as we know it with xml and html and so on has created an infrastructure layer on top of which you can now do things and so to the extent that there is a Web 2.0, maybe it uses web services and Service Oriented Architecture, it’s still very nascent, still very infantile. Long ways to go before we see it grabbing hold. I even chatted with Infosys this morning abut that and we have a similar view that it is still very much in its infancy.

     

    But, the concept is very compelling that you could standardize interaction. I hope we do it right this time. We tried once before in 1980, we called it the Webtronic Data Interchange and it didn’t work out because it was too vertical. So I sort of don’t like the terms Web 2.0 and Web 3.0., the thought behind them is standardizing of exchanges creating a layer of infrastructure that everyone can use and build on.

    How much is your India R & D center involved in solving these issues and challenges?

    In very obvious terms, we have a large number of Indian researchers and engineers at Google working very hard on many of these problems. So it’s a direct contribution at least to Google.
  • DD, Mike Pandey launch a brave green series

    DD, Mike Pandey launch a brave green series

    NEW DELHI: Three-time “Green Oscar” winner environmental filmmaker Mike Pandey says there is a great scope for a film like “Al Gore” which seems to have transformed the American environmental conscience leading up to massive pressure on the retrogressive Bush administration, but says Bollywood has not grown up and there is no money for that kind of endeavour.

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com ahead of the launching his latest series for Doordarshan, “Earth Matters” in its second avatar, Pandey said: “I’d love to do that kind of a film, but where is the money? Bollywood still spends money only on crass commercial ventures and ignores real issues.”
    Pandey added: “I still make these films though there is very little money in it.”The series will be telecast from February 4, and Director General LD Mandloi told indiantelevision.com: “We have paid Rs six lakh per episode, but the cost could have been higher for the filmmaker,” corroborating Pandey’s version.

    Interestingly, he said, “This is the first time an environmental series is being made in India in Hindi.” The earlier series of the same title was in English.

    Mandloi said: “We had received major appreciation for the first series and thus decided to do this new series. Unfortunately, everything nowadays is seen in terms of ‘marketability’, but as a public broadcaster have a different agenda.”

    The second series will be of 26 episodes and shown every Sunday at 11 am on DD. Mandloi said that DD is committed to such environmental programmes, despite the fact that consciousness on such issues in the country is not as high as it is in the west.

    He quoted fabled Hindi poet Muktibodh: the world must become much better and cleaner that it is today and for that we need a good sweeper.

    Mandloi said that the last figures for DD viewership was 800 million (realistically put, around 350 million) and for this new venture, 321 AIR radio centres and 30 channels of DD would be pressed into service for a massive awareness campaign, and also that billboards would be put up at all DD and AIR stations.

    The series – shown in snippets as a preview at the Indian Habitat Centre today – has captured a wide range of sensitive issues and veers right away from the rather puerile attempts to indulge in jargonistic poster-films that mark novice enterprises in the field. From the unseen Andamanese tribes and their lives – they actually seem straight out of Africa and make the audience feel they are seeing something foreign – to dances of Manipur and the relationship of such dances and rituals with the inherent lifestyle of the native people who live amidst nature, the series has some major surprises.

    There are episodes also on other countries like places in Africa and Sri Lanka. Pandey said there is need for people across the share their experiences and help coexist. Pandey, addressing the media later, Pandey said that people in India should be aware of issue such as the ones he has filmed on. There is need for understanding and thatcomes from education.

    He revealed that as a comparison, at a recent film festival on environment abroad each 40-minute film cost Rs 22 crore. That is the kind of investment people make abroad on such issues.

    “We do not realise that our lives depend on just two insects: the butterfly and honeybee, which pollinate 87 per cent of the plants and give us the food and fruits we survive on. Long ago, education was taken away from us. The emphasis was on how to survive. But that has changed and now we need to take heed of how to keep the earth green.” This is the message that Pandey feels should go out to the Indian vernacular audience needs to see.

    Pandey has also delved on issues like stem cell research and on our scientists and their IPR related progress.

    Mandloi, however, said that the series will also be dubbed in English and shown across the country where Hindi is not understood and across various places in the world at a later date. Pandey said that these are archival series that can be played again and again and will ever remain important, though the making was extremely tough. On the impact of such films in India, Pandy gave one stark example, of how a film on destruction of the vulture population in India was seen by the Prime Minister and only then a decision was taken to stop production of a drug that had wiped out 87 million vultures in the country.

  • Asean, Casbaa, USPTO heighten awareness of broadcast IPR

    Asean, Casbaa, USPTO heighten awareness of broadcast IPR

    MUMBAI: The Asean Secretariat and US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), with the support and assistance of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa), today launched a high-level, two-day seminar focusing on best practices in anti-piracy enforcement and intellectual property (IP) rights in broadcasting.

    The seminar marked the first time the Asean Secretariat, Casbaa and the USPTO have combined resources, bringing together government officials with pay-TV industry executives, local and international cable operators, content creators, regional regulators and IPR experts.

    Robert L. Stoll, Director, Office of Enforcement (USPTO) said, “A robust regulatory framework is crucial for protecting and promoting the flow of creative work of all of the individuals and companies in the broadcast business.”

    Rohazar Wati Zuallcobley, Deputy Director General, Malaysian Intellectual Property Office speaking on behalf of the Asean Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation said, “The television industry has enormous potential for growth in many Asean economies. However, we must act with urgency to strengthen the protection and enforcement of IP rights to fully realise that potential.”

    “We are pleased to support the USPTO and the Asean Secretariat in this joint initiative,” said Marcel Fenez, the Chairman of Casbaa. “Cooperation between government and the private sector plays a significant role in reducing piracy and driving the pay-TV sector’s contribution to economic progress within Asean countries.”

    Casbaa recently released estimates showing that annual losses from illegal pay-TV connections will reach US$1.13 billion in 2006.

    Key issues addressed at the forum included how to the structure regulatory regimes to successfully protect IP in broadcasting, the latest developments in anti-piracy technology and the challenges posed by new delivery platforms such as mobile TV and web casting.

  • IBF calls for broader consultative participation on Broadcast Bill

    IBF calls for broader consultative participation on Broadcast Bill

    MUMBAI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) is crying foul against the Broadcast Services Regulation Bill, 2006. Submitting a detailed proposal on the Bill to the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry today, the IBF suggested a broader consultative participation among all the stakeholders before framing the regulations. Its complaint: the proposed regulatory framework would restrict the growth of the broadcasting industry.

    “We welcome the attempts of the ministry of information and broadcasting to consolidate various codes and guidelines under which our members operate, through one umbrella law, and believe that a single window approach would benefit the industry. However, in the interest of ensuring long term sustainability and growth of our industry, any new regulatory framework needs to be preceded by a thorough analysis of the broader issues facing the industry. A consultative process is especially critical since our industry is still in its infancy,” the IBF said.

    Stressing on a law that would also facilitate a self-regulatory process in the industry, the IBF raised some “critical” issues that needed to first be resolved in the interest of all stakeholders, before further steps were taken to regulate the broadcast services.

    1. RESTRICTIONS ON GROWTH, EFFICIENCY AND BENEFITS OF ECONOMIES OF SCALE
    The IBF expressed discontent over proposed regulations on content and commercial time and felt the Broadcast Bill would impose arbitrary restrictions on the expansion of media companies.

    “Media businesses require huge capital investments, with business plans that have long gestation periods, often ranging up to ten years or more. Any impediments, therefore will retard the growth of the media industry, and affect the efficiency of the media business and the ability of consumers to receive high quality programming through a variety of delivery platforms at reasonable prices,” the IBF said.

    As the regulations would require a complete restructuring of India’s broadcasting industry, the IBF feared it would lead to a loss in revenue and downsizing.

    “It is also important to note that there are presently a number of business arrangements between broadcasters and cable operators with shareholding patterns that are in direct conflict with the proposed provision in the Bill. Similarly in the absence of alternative arrangements, and with the knowledge of the government, many broadcasters have set up captive earth stations/ teleports to uplink their own channels, which in practice may run counter to the mandate of the proposed Broadcast Bill,” the IBF said.

    2. PUBLIC BROADCASTING & DOORDARSHAN AS AN INDEPENDENT PLAYER
    The IBF is against the mandatory sharing of sports programming with Doordarshan since it is in conflict with intellectual property rights (IPR) of those who hold the telecast rights. Besides, this is against the trend of recent judicial pronouncements by various courts in India.

    The IBF has recommended that a standalone law be enacted for public broadcasting (PB) after appropriate deliberations, in line with several jurisdictions abroad.

    “Doordarshan should not be allowed to compete commercially with other channels if it is truly to be a public broadcaster. “It should be subject to a PB regulation that needs to be developed under the aegis of the independent sectoral regulator to ensure that it fulfils its role as a public broadcaster,” IBF pointed out.

    The “must carry obligations” should only apply if at all to true PBs. A channel that competes for advertising revenues should definitely be excluded from being further extended the advantage of being compulsorily carried, as this skews a level playing field and is an impediment to the commercial business of broadcasters, cable operators, as well as the consumer’s right to watch channels of choice.

    “The present structure of the Broadcast Bill seems to provide rights to Doordarshan without any reference to the issue of consideration, and is therefore arbitrary, anti competitive, and will impede the free flow of funds available to Indian sports today. This anomaly needs to be addressed especially because Doordarshan has a commercial motive and generates separate revenue from such feed by selling advertising space while re-broadcasting such feed,” the IBF pointed out.

    3. AUTONOMY OF THE BROADCAST REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA

    The IBF supports the merger of the role of the Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India (Brai) into the Press Council of India which has a significant representation from the members of the industry.

    “It is imperative that any regulator should be independent and not serve any single vested interest, whether the government, the private sector or the consumer. In this regard the process of appointment and the term and tenure of members of such a regulator are critical for ensuring that a regulator serves its purpose of maintaining a balance of interests,” the IBF said.

    The regulatory and adjudicatory powers of any regulator for the broadcasting industry also should be separated and specific.

  • Stop! representatives meet European officials on piracy menace

    Stop! representatives meet European officials on piracy menace

    MUMBAI: Representatives from seven US government agencies are meeting European Commission officials to discuss anti-piracy initiatives.

    This is the second leg of the Strategy Targetting Organised Piracy (Stop!) initiative. Stop is an attempt to dry up the trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, which is estimated at over $600 billion per year. Stop will target large-scale operations as opposed to individual file traders. In addition, the US is looking to apply pressure on foreign governments where piracy is rampant.

    Among the tools to be used by Stop! are the publication of annual lists of foreign companies profiting from pirated goods, targeting organised criminal groups involved in piracy, and overhauling US intellectual property laws.

    Stop! states that its outreach to Europe marks the continuation of the Administrations sustained global effort to build international cooperation against piracy and counterfeiting. Piracy hurts the marketplace for legitimate producers, discourages innovation and threatens the safety and well-being of consumers.

    Among the topics scheduled to be discussed with European officials are strengthening border control measures, boosting investigation and prosecution of money laundering crimes associated with trade in fakes, improving law enforcement methods and standardising the trademark registration process.

    Stop was formed last October to enhance intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement globally. Earlier this year in April members of Stop! had toured Asia to build a coalition of nations to join an international fight against IPR thieves. Stop! is looking to make life as miserable as possible for the counterfeiters and pirates.

    Since 2001, annual seizures of counterfeit goods at US ports have increased by 81 per cent. The value of the seized assets rose by 64 per cent to $90 million in 2003. In 2004, there was a 60 per cent increase in criminal IPR-related arrests.