Impact of Online Digital Piracy on the Indian Film Industry: An Empirical Investigation into Consumer Behaviour

Abstract

In the present times, the Internet has become a threat to copyright content by facilitating sharing of information on a large-scale, and providing accessible alternatives to retrieve information goods including films & music. The irony of sharing information over the internet is that ‘access-to-content’ is deemed synonymous with ‘control-of-content’. This phenomenon is defined as “Online Digital Piracy”. The Indian Film and Entertainment industry too is one such victim of piracy of its copyright in cinematographic works over the internet. This study attempts to understand the causes and impacts of Online Digital Piracy on the Indian Film Industry and the efficiency of the current legal regime in India governing the same. It takes a unique approach as the same is reflective of the inferences drawn from an empirical study of digital content consumers concerning the volumes of consumption of pirated film content. It deals with the conceptual and theoretical basis of online digital piracy with reference to the Indian Film Industry and critically evaluates the current legal regime in India under Copyright and Technology Laws to combat the adverse effects of piracy-related activities after corroborating the inferences drawn from an empirical study of consumer behaviour towards online digital piracy.