INDIAN SCREEN COMMUNITY CELEBRATES
CINEMA ON WORLD IP DAY
Launches
awareness programs with industry stakeholders on the challenges of content
protection in a digital economy
MUMBAI/DELHI/HYDERABAD
– In recognition of innovation and creativity in content
industries, the MPDA is partnering with local screen associations and industry
bodies to organize events in support of World IP Day, this year designated Movies: A Global Passion.
On April 26, 2014, in association with strategic
alliance partner, the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC) and
leading multiplex chains across the country, the MPDA launched an online quiz
for multiplex staff entitled ‘Be A Movie
Cop’. This initiative attempts to raise awareness on the threats and
challenges of camcording in cinemas, while rewarding theatre staff with
exciting prizes, including a ‘Movie Cop’
badge in recognition of their efforts to curb content theft in their cinemas.
“We are happy to
collaborate with the Motion Picture Dist. Association, India and the APFCC on
this interactive and educative initiative. Cinema staff are the frontline of
defense and need to be equipped with the right understanding and tools to help
combat camcording in cinemas,” said Ashish Saksena, Chief Operating Officer, Big
Cinemas.
“As the leading multiplex chain in the country, we at INOX take
ample measures to curb piracy across all our multiplexes. We are happy to be a part
of this initiative of MPDA, India and the APFCC to combat this menace and will
continue our efforts to uproot and eradicate this threat out of our industry.”
said Daizy Lal, Chief Operating Officer, Inox Leisure Ltd.
On April 26, in
celebration of the global passion for movies, the American Center, New Delhi in
association with MPDA (India) will host special screenings of three Hollywood
blockbuster films – Captain America: The
Winter Soldier, Disney - UTV, Noah
– Viacom 18 and Rio 2 – Fox Star
Studios, India which will also feature an IP quiz. Over 150 guests comprising Government
of India officials, the U.S. Embassy and students from various universities
will attend the event.
"India and the United States both have
diverse and incredibly vibrant film industries," says Joshua W. Polacheck,
Cultural Attache for north India at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, "and we
are proud to work together with MPDA, India and our partners across India to
promote intellectual property rights. The creative workers in both countries
deserve these protections and consumers must understand the very real negative
implications of piracy on the cinema we all love."
MPDA, India
will also participate in a conference organized by FICCI’s IPR division in
association with the Department of Intellectual Property
Office (IPO). The conference on ‘Fostering Innovations and
Creativity in Indian Industry through Intellectual Property for Higher Growth
Trajectory’ will focus on the role of IP in boosting creativity, the economic
impact and challenges of online content protection in a digital economy.
Hollywood and Indian cinema both value films as products of Intellectual
Property (IP). Audiences are often unaware of the creative process that goes
into creating music, lyrics and screenplays and the value of the talent and
skill of technicians, composers, lyricists, editors, producers,
cinematographers, sound designers, animators, and creators of special effects.
Cinema is a global passion today and plays a significant role in creating
jobs in addition to contributing to the economy of a nation. According to a
study commissioned by the Motion Picture Dist. Association, India (MPDA) in
association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FICCI), the Film Federation of India (FFI) and the Film and Television
Producers Guild of India (FTPGI), the Indian motion picture and television
industry is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors, contributing c. USD
8.1 billion (c. INR 50,000 Cr.) to the country’s economy, equating to 0.5% of
GDP, in 2013, and supports a significant 1.8 million (18.8 lac) jobs.
“The opportunities to increase potential and growth
in this industry would be significant, if content was better protected. Content
theft through camcording in cinemas and rogue/ illegitimate websites continues
to undermine profits and threatens jobs in our creative industries. As we join
our partners on World IP Day to increase awareness and respect for creative
works in a digital age, creating a legislative framework that promotes and
protects the film industry which supports millions of jobs, while recognizing
the challenges of a digital economy is the need of the hour,” said Uday Singh,
Managing Director, MPDA, India.
A copy of the Deloitte
Economic Contribution of the Indian Motion Picture and Television Industry 2013
full report and infographic summary are available to view and download at www.mpaa-india.org.
# # #
ABOUT THE MPDA: The
Motion Picture Dist. Association (India) Pvt. Ltd. (MPDA) is a wholly owned
local office of the Motion Picture Association, and represents the interests of
the American motion picture industry in India. MPDA works closely with local
industry, government, law enforcement authorities and educational institutions
to promote and protect the Indian film and television industry.
# #
#
ABOUT THE MPA: PROMOTING
& PROTECTING SCREEN COMMUNITIES IN ASIA PACIFIC
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Motion
Picture Association International (MPA-I) represent the interests of the six
international producers and distributors of filmed entertainment. To do so,
they promote and protect the intellectual property rights of these companies
and conduct public awareness programs to highlight to movie fans around the
world the importance of content protection. These activities have helped to
transform entire markets benefiting film and television industries in each
country including foreign and local filmmakers alike. The organizations
act on behalf of the members of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc
(MPAA) which include; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures
Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City
Studios LLC; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; and Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc. The MPA and the MPA-I have worldwide operations, which are
directed from their head offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and
overseen in the Asia Pacific by a team based in Singapore.
###
World Intellectual Property Day was
established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2001 to
raise awareness of the role of intellectual property in our daily lives, and to
celebrate the contribution made by innovators and artists to the development of
societies across the globe. WIPO members choose April 26, the date on which the
Convention establishing WIPO originally entered into force in 1970, as the day
for people around the globe, to
highlight, discuss and demonstrate how the IP system contributes to the
flourishing of music and the arts and to driving the technological innovation that
helps shape our world. (Source: WIPO official website)
For
more information please contact:
Lohita
Sujith
Director-
Corporate Communications
E:
lohita_sujith@mpaa-india.org
.jpg)
