The Cinematograph Amendment Bill 2021' gets approval and tough times ahead for movie pirates
The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021 was initially proposed in February 2019 to penalize film piracy
HYDERABAD: The Indian government has reportedly approved the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021, which proposes introducing new categories for film certification and stricter penal provisions to prevent film piracy. If the bill comes under implementation, it can relieve filmmakers who have been vexed facing piracy issues for decades.
The proposed bill suggests imprisonment ranging from three months to three years and a fine of at least Rs 3,00,000, which may extend up to 5 percent of the audited gross production cost of the film, as penalties for film piracy.
Under the proposed amendments, the new film certification categories will include "U" or universal, "U/A 7+", "U/A 13+", and "U/A 16+", in addition to the existing "A" rating for content restricted to adults.
This move appears to align with the age-based restrictions recently implemented for over-the-top (OTT) content providers under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021 was initially proposed in February 2019 to penalize film piracy. However, after the parliamentary committee on IT made amendments, a revised version was introduced in 2021, which has now been cleared by the union cabinet.