Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Nov 25, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Nov 25, 2003 |
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Marketing
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Piracy Government - Security Industry & Economy - Terrorism Ribeiro links piracy to funding of terrorism Our Bureau
Thiruvananthapuram , Nov. 24 THE former DGP of Punjab, Mr Julio Ribeiro, has said that the music and video pirates in the country could well be diverting some of the "fast money" to finance terrorist organisations both inside and outside the country. Addressing a national seminar on `Anti-piracy action' organised here by the Kerala Police, Mr Ribeiro cited the fact that the sizeable Tamil population in Canada, for instance, had ensured a big market for pirated Tamil content in that country. It was not wholly out of place to infer that the piracy racket could well have been supporting the cause of organisations such as the LTTE, he said. Piracy purported to thieving of a kind, but the public was yet to realise the implications of procuring pirated products. "No one in a sound frame of mind would wilfully buy a stolen car but the same could not be inferred with respect to procuring pirated music, video, software or print content," Mr Ribeiro said. In a similar manner, pirating and counterfeiting of pharmaceutical products were causing a major headache to law enforcement agencies in recent times. Piracy has all but killed the music industry in the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It is threatening to do the same with the Indian music industry, which provides a means of livelihood to thousands of people, including budding artistes. The result is that most leading Indian brands are reluctant to get into new ventures. According to Mr V. Balachandran, former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, pirated versions had permeated the Indian music industry to as high a level as 80 per cent. The film industry also had been badly affected, but the industry has failed to evolve a cohesive anti-piracy action plan. He also said that the nexus between pirates and terrorists was becoming clear with each passing day. He suggested that Customs officers be vested with powers to account for pirated content even if the copyright holder has not registered a complaint with the Registrar, Copyrights. In his address, Mr Willem Van Adrichem, Regional Coordinator, International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI), said Pakistan had become the favourite sanctuary for pirates. At least eight CD replication units with DVD capacity were operating in that country; these units could churn out six million DVDs a month. Such pirated content was being exported to India and the US, among other destinations. "Pirates from both sides of the international border continue to merrily carry on with their business that assured them easy money," he said. Film and music industry in both countries have suffered badly in the bargain.
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