New Delhi: How to stream original series on Disney+Hotstar, how to find shows from Star Plus, Star Gold, Star World and Star Sports television channels and new Fox Star Studio movies shared illegally On the Internet?
Likewise Season 4 of the Netflix Original strange things was leaked. Or the Kangana Ranaut-starrer dhakadi became available online, a few days before the theatrical release.
An FIR filed by streaming platform Disney Star against alleged theft of their content has again brought to the fore a problem that industry insiders claim has been plaguing production houses and OTT platforms for a long time.
They say that legal action and efforts to create public awareness against piracy have all failed to help.
According to the FIR lodged by Disney Star in Bengaluru last week, accessed by ThePrint, the OTT platform has accused four platforms – TamilRockers, TamilMV, TamilBlasters and Picashow – of illegally releasing content owned by it.
“We are suffering from torrent websites that are illegally recording and releasing new content from our platform. TamilRockers, TamilMV, TamilBlasters and Picasso apps are active and taking content from platforms like ‘Hotstar’ and ‘Star India’. Many advertisements were also taken from the platform illegally without permission,” alleged the FIR.
The legal provisions invoked in the FIR are section 66 of the Information Technology Act (offence relating to computers), besides section 63 (offence of infringement of copyright or infringement of other rights conferred by the Copyright Act) and section 65 (for the purpose of making plates Possession of copies of the Copyright Act), except under section 420 of IPC (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).
ThePrint reached out to Disney Star’s public relations representative by phone for a comment, but did not receive a response until publication of this report.
Santosh Ram, Station House Officer, Bengaluru Police Cyber Crime Cell said, “Yes, Disney Star approached us and lodged an FIR on this.”
Just as production houses and cinema halls run the risk of losing revenue due to piracy, similarly for OTT platforms, loss of customers and advertisers due to piracy translates into loss of earnings.
According to a report by London-based Digital TV Research, OTT players in India risk of losing Estimated revenue due to piracy of $3.08 billion by 2022, where worldwide revenue loss from piracy was estimated at $52 billion.
Meanwhile, a joint report good Published by content delivery network Akamai and tech company MUSO (which provides anti-piracy solutions) shows that the global demand for pirated content increased between January 2021 and September 2021.
India said 6.5 billion visits to piracy websites were recorded, the third highest after the US (13.5 billion) and Russia (7.2 billion).
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what are torrent websites
Piracy refers to the act of illegally reproducing or disseminating copyrighted material such as music, movies, shows, books, etc.
When it comes to audio-visual entertainment content, torrent websites are a General How to make pirated content available.
The websites get their name from the process of torrenting – a type of online peer-to-peer sharing. Here, the user can download or upload files through an online network instead of a central server.
Each ‘partner’ involved in this act is downloading or uploading files from each other. To do this, one has to first download the software available free online to enable torrenting.
Torrent websites allow users to share files copyrighted by other platforms as it moves from device to device – peers transfer files between them from device to device, thereby tracking the source. It becomes difficult to do.
These copyrighted files can include movies, series, games, and music. But done without the permission of the copyright owner, this process becomes illegal and harms the content creators.
Technological improvements over the years have only helped those involved in piracy.
What now takes an hour to download takes a few minutes with a good broadband connection. People have started using VPN services or virtual private networks to download from torrent websites to hide the source from Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Now there are apps that allow users to illegally download or stream videos on their phones.
Users have also started streaming movies or series online through domains that often shift unnoticed. A common example of this in India is ‘fmovies’, a platform where one can stream movies for free.
‘Not the first time’
According to industry leaders, this is not the first time a complaint has been filed against torrent websites like TamilRockers – said to be one of the most common torrent sites visited by Indians for pirated content.
Although called TamilRockers – as it started operations in Chennai and continues to operate from there among other locations, according to sources – it offers content in multiple languages.
On Monday, TamilRockers free The much awaited season 4 of Apne Manch Mein strange things, OTT Platforms Already Have Pending lawsuits over piracy concerns in America.
In 2019, there were three TamilRockers members Arrested After releasing new movies of camera-quality (good quality) prints free of cost on the platform. TamilRockers had a suspected admin a year ago Arrested The cases are under consideration by the Kerala Police while the accused are out on bail.
“The fight with Tamilrockers has been long, they have been very smart in their own way and they mainly operate from places like Malaysia and Dubai. This is not the first time the content has been pirated so shamelessly. He has streamed the movies online despite receiving several legal notices. His racket is bigger than the rest,” Film Federation of India general secretary Ravi Kottarkara told ThePrint.
Kottarkara said: “It’s also because we don’t have strict laws against piracy in India and so they’ve got a thriving market. The Copyright Act prescribes a jail time of 2 years if convicted and it’s worth crores of material.” Not enough to steal.
Picasso, Thop TV (closed in a police crackdown last year), fmovies are other popular sites in the country for pirated content. ‘Songs.pk’ has pirated Bollywood songs since the early 2000s, while websites like ‘9anime’ illegally provide free anime content.
fighting back
Last year, Zee Entertainment Enterprises filed Complaint after pirated version of Salman Khan starrer film Radhe It reportedly started being circulated on messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Telegram.
Several producer and director associations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere have launched a fight against piracy.
As per sources in the Indian OTT industry, “Southern movies and series are doing incredibly well these days. Therefore, they also attract the attention of pirates.”
While the Tamil Film Producers Council has anti piracy cellProducers Guild of India crew Which campaigns and works to identify “piracy sites”.
A producer on the condition of anonymity said, “Piracy in India happens in four stages”.
“The first is from the edit table. There have been cases where people have been bribed to the tune of crores to take the first print. Second, when it comes to the Central Board of Film Certification, there have been occasions when the source of the leak has been identified. The hawala was given from here. The third is the distribution phase, and the fourth is when the films are sent abroad for screening,” said the producer.
“Countries like Malaysia and UAE where piracy is rampant, receive copies of new movies at least a week before the release date. This is where migrants help coordinate. Again, it is because of corruption that these copies are distributed to the wrong people. ,
Police alert for action against piracy – Maharashtra Police last year Arrested CEO of a popular piracy website and stopped all operations.
(Edited by Polomi Banerjee)
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