What began as a discussion on IPTV fast snowballed into a discussion on copyright of digital content and telecom policy. Dhiraj Shah, CMD of Time Media & Entertainment Pvt Ltd voiced his concerns about protection of copyright with new mediums for distribution of content cropping up regularly. Issues related to copyright are pending in the high court, with content creators having sold double rights to distributors like Time Media & Entertainment, and then having sold rights separately to TV Channels. Sujata Dev, believes that IPTV doesn’t have too much an issue of protecting content since access is limited to an intranet, not internet, and sufficient DRM is in place. The convergence bill is a necessity. Bobby Bedi of Kaleidoscope Entertainment said that it’s an old issue, but a new right. Separate rights need to be given for different modes of distribution, and there is an issue of their being no body to regulate IPTV. All over the world, it’s a free-for-all. There is also going to be a jamboree in the legitimate content space. Roshan Abbas, MD of Encompass, said that there is no clear cut policy and support for the rights of producers – channels exploit the smaller players.
I asked Sujata Dev about the difference between regulation for broadcast and IPTV, since the latter is essentially data transfer between a seller and a buyer, and not broadcast. She said that they need to be treated differently since on demand content on IPTV is essentially unicast, while broadcast is multicast.
Boddy Bedi added that VoD will work if the video is released on-demand within a few weeks of the theatrical release, else it won’t have an impact.
Rajesh Chharia, Director CJ Online Pvt Ltd asked about why the government has not blocked download sites for pirated content, if they are (rightly) blocking sites that pose a threat to national security? AK Saxena responded that someone has to put in a request – a Paper Under Consideration (PUC) – which the government has to consider. Apparently, Chharia had submitted a PUC over three months ago, and it is ‘still being considered’.
I also asked AK Saxena, Member-Services, Telecom Commission, about the government ruling on the unbundling of the last mile. He said that Dayanidhi Maran, the Minister for Telecom has made it clear that the TRAI recommendations on unbundling of the last mile have not been accepted.
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