After the opposition staged a walkout over its demand for a discussion on the Manipur situation, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to reduce piracy to support the film industry and streamline licensing procedures.
By voice voting, the bill amending the Cinematograph Act of 1952 was approved.
The government has suggested in the law a maximum three-year prison sentence and a fine of up to 5% of the film’s production cost for those who make unauthorized copies of films.
The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill-2023 also suggests eliminating the 10-year validity period, allowing the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to give certificates to films with everlasting validity. The measure aims to establish the ‘UA’ category’s three age-based certifications, ‘UA 7’, ‘UA 13’, and ‘UA 16’, as well as give the CBFC the authority to approve a movie with a separate certificate for its airing on television or in other media.
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The new Rajya Sabha bill prohibits piracy:
The Rajya Sabha bill proposes to add new parts to the Cinematograph Act that would make it illegal to record and show films without permission (sections 6AA and 6AB), in an effort to combat movie piracy.
A video or any portion of it may not be recorded with the sole intention of employing the recording in the same device, according to the bill’s strict new clause 6AA. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur stated in response to a discussion on the bill in the Upper House that it was introduced to stop the 20,000 crore losses the film industry was suffering as a result of piracy.
According to him, the new legislation would also improve the film certification procedure.
Such a bill passed by Rajya Sabha is an important step because pirated versions of movies are shared in India within 2 days of a movie’s release. This affects the movie’s box office collections and acts of piracy are also promoted. This bill should be ASAP so that piracy can be stopped in the country.
