Thaindian News

October 23, 2010 (Showbiz PR Wire): The enforcement team has seized 1.32 Lakhs pirated DVDs, 102 DVD writers & made 6 arrests in Delhi, Panipat & Punjab

The Alliance Against Copyright Theft (AACT), a coalition between Hollywood-Bollywood studios to fight the various forms of piracy in India, seized more than Rs. 1.5 crores worth of pirated DVDs, writers & inlay cards across North India. In the recent times, the coalition has increased pressure on the pirates in Delhi-NCR, Punjab & Haryana to curb piracy.

This week the team has cracked down a major pirated DVD manufacturing factory in Panipat, Haryana & seized over 37,000 pirated DVDs/CDs worth Rs. 50lakhs. The team has also seized about 6 lakhs inlay cards along with 102 DVD writers & one TV set. The police have registered 4 FIRs & 6 accused were arrested under copyright section of 51, 52A, 63, 68A, 292 & 420. In the last one week AACT has also raided godowns of pirates in multiple cities like Ambala, Faridabad, Delhi etc. seizing more than 94,221 pirated DVDs.

The enforcement agency has kept a strict vigil on this area to close all shops/stalls selling pirated discs. The effectiveness of the raids conducted by AACT has improved since the launch of the toll free number 1800-103-1919 earlier this year. Based on the information given by the common man on AACT’s toll-free number, the enforcement team along with the Local Police Departments has successfully conducted these raids in multiple locations.   

Commenting on the successful raids Sanjay Tandon, Vice President, Reliance Big Entertainment & Founding Member of AACT said, “This is a huge success for the entire film & entertainment industry and a lot of credit goes to the common man, who is proactively giving us information on our toll-free number. Initially we were targeting Maharashtra & Gujarat and have effectively reduced the sale of pirated DVDs by close to 30-35 %. In the next phase, we are targeting North India’s major piracy hubs. Looking at the tremendous response from the Government Officials, Local Police & the public, we hope to repeat our success story here as well.” 

AACT has constantly been working towards creating awareness campaigns through various ground initiatives. In the recent past, AACT has supported FICCI to form an “Anti-Piracy Coordination Cell”, shot an Anti-Piracy film with Priyanka Chopra & Ranbir Kapoor, launched a comic book for school goers on “Online Piracy” etc. Over the next few months, AACT is working closely with the Government Officials & the Films Industry to bring in stricter laws for Camcord piracy.

About AACT

The Alliance Against Copyright Theft (AACT) is an initiative to address piracy in India – launched jointly between the Hindi and Hollywood studios.  This Bollywood-Hollywood coalition includes UTV Motion Pictures, Moser Baer Entertainment, Reliance Big Entertainment, Eros International, and the Motion Picture Association (representing the six major Hollywood studios).

AACT will target all forms of piracy, both physical and online,affecting India.  While hard goods (pirate DVD) enforcement will be a cornerstone to the coalition, AACT will also take steps to curb the growing Internet and camcord piracy problem in India.  Moreover, AACT will launch public relations and educational outreach campaigns to raise awareness among consumers and government officials regarding the dangers of piracy. While the members of AACT are committed to stopping piracy, our efforts will be limited if the public is also not committed to stopping piracy.  It is our sincere hope that this initiative will convince the public that piracy is not a victimless crime, but rather a crime that funds organized criminal syndicates and terrorism, and similarly, causes irreparable economic harm.  www.aact.in

Media Contact:

Shipra Tewari

Relations Associate

AACT

9920900197

–Showbiz PR Wire