Warner Brothers Campaigns Against Piracy of Upcoming Films Warner Bros. Worldwide Anti-Piracy Group has announced that it will mount a targeted campaign to protect the worldwide release of the upcoming film Chandni Chowk to China which opened last month simultaneously in select theatres in more than 35 markets. These countries include the United States the United Kingdom Canada India Hong Kong Australia Germany and Malaysia. The announcement was made by Lucia Rangel vice president Latin America and Asia Pacific Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations Warner Bros. Entertainment. “We know that audience excitement and anticipation for Chandni Chowk to China is high especially in the North American Hindi and U.K. community ” says Rangel. “Unfortunately this means that pirate demand for the film will be high as well. But anyone trying to illegally camcord sell or distribute our film on the Internet should be aware that we will be very very vigilant in our efforts to protect this film. We have many ways of preventing and identifying those perpetrators who would steal our content. They have proven successful in the past and we will take action against those who are caught.” Warner Bros. Anti-Piracy plans include monitoring screenings to catch possible camcorders scanning the Internet to identify illegal uploading of the film and files and raiding stores and markets to ensure that they are not offering illegal copies of the film. “While the film is still in theatres sellers and consumers should note that any DVDs of the film are not legally authorized and if found retailers may face the legal action ” says Rangel. Raids of stores and markets for a previous film Saas Bahu N Sensex resulted in the seizure of thousands of counterfeit discs including many other titles. One seller in the United Kingdom received court ordered curfew. A study by the Motion Picture Association showed that in 2005 the major United States Studios lost $12 million while a recent report prepared for the United States Indian Business Council by global accounting firm Ernst and Young showed that India's entertainment industry lost as much as $4 billion and 800 000 direct jobs each year due to counterfeiting and piracy. Warner Bros. www.warnerbros.com
