Piracy

Piracy ! What does it bring to your mind ? Well to me, it is the bobbing of heads, the whistling and laughter in the background, shaky song sequences, passing by of the vendors during the climax when you're watching a movie.(show pirated movie sequence). But it doesn't end here..Piracy has clawed its way up ; be it in the music industry, the entertainment industry or the IT sector !! And now it has assumed a pandemic status.(world map highlighting countries indulging in piracy) With countries like China and Russia leading, India is not far behind in the race to become the third largest country indulging in piracy with rates as high as 70%. And Why is that? Coz you can find pirated music, movies and softwares anywhere - the flea market, from street vendors, and thrift shops at amazingly low prices !! And its not only internal agents that engage in piracy. Large shipments of pirated softwares and Music DVD's were recently seized in Pune worth Rs 3.5 crores. It is now a documented evidence that as far as profits are concerned, piracy is more lucrative than even drug peddling, so much so that it has now become a multi crore money spinner for the underworld and its allied terrorist anti-social commitments. So next time, you download some software illegally or purchase a pirated DVD, you might be aiding the Al-Qaeda for instance !! If we look at the world scenario, we'll see that even superpowers like US and UK are wrestling with piracy ! The London Evening Standard recently found out that UK's market has been flooded with illegal copies of Oscar winning movie Slumdog Millionaire. Even in our homeland, most of us had seen it at our homes before the Movie's DVD Premiere on 14th April. Similarly, The RIAA of USA sued 2 teenagers for illegally downloading and distributing 1000 songs via peer to peer network. Likewise, 11 movie piracy operations were shut down in landmark anti-piracy operations in Perth, Australia. But do we understand why piracy has been going on so blatantly? Well in India,the major driving forces for the use of pirated stuff are the lack of legal framework, "taken-for-granted" approach, huge availability of pirated material, high pricing, high usage of assembled PC and enormous financial benefits. Each year, software companies worldwide lose over $47 billion in revenue to piracy. And in this time of recession, the loss is greater and more painful. Will this realisation ever dawn upon the offenders or us for that matter? It has to. It must. Or are we ready to continue compromising our ethics for a few mere bucks.I think not. Its high time that we put our foot down and do the right thing. Some people say that piracy cannot be stopped but my personal opinion is that if we use good copy protection system and adhere to our value system, we can surely make a difference. Organisations like PIRACY ARREST specialise in tracking pirated material and communicating with the offending parties to bring justice to the rightful owners.To reduce piracy continuous education and enforcement efforts from the various industry players and government is required. There is a need for increased governmental involvement, end users education, specific piracy law formulation and making prices more competitive. In India the laws against anti-piracy are well written but they need to be consistent, effective and properly implemented at all levels from both private and government agencies. To conclude, I just want to touch again on one point. Indulging in piracy is no better than a full fledged theft or a murder. It is a crime in every sense. I believe almost everybody here in the audience must have don it atleast once, intentionally or unintentionally. What's done is done. But we can control what is to come. We can either continue to be a criminal or be the change we want the world to be by legally buying material and not destroying someone's chances at making money through hard work. At last, it is our choice to make and I have confidence that not only will each one of us make a conscientious effort in inhibiting piracy but also inspire others to do the same. Thank you. May we always believe and do the right thing.