HC orders ISPs to block sites offering pirated music

Indian Music Industry (IMI), the umbrella organisation of the music industry, has won a crucial battle in its war against piracy with the Calcutta High Court directing 11 internet service providers (ISPs) to block illegal music websites.

Indian Music Industry (IMI), the umbrella organisation of the music industry, has won a crucial battle in its war against piracy with the Calcutta High Court directing 11 internet service providers (ISPs) to block illegal music websites.

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IMI, along with Sagarika Music and Phonographic Performance Ltd had moved the Calcutta high court earlier this year against 11 leading Indian ISPs. However, the ISPs failed to represent themselves in court and an ex-parte order was passed directing them to block the websites that illegally allow the downloading of the songs, which result in piracy.

JF Ribeiro, chief advisor, IMI, said, “There is a lot to be done as there is a long battle ahead to curb piracy. The IMI is now focusing on implementation of the order and ensuring that all unauthorised websites which offer downloading of music for free without license are banned and blocked.”

Vijay Lazarus, president of IMI, said during the press briefing, “piracy is causing losses of about Rs20,000 crores every year due to copyright infringement. The recent study suggests that India's digital music market is in the range of Rs5,000 crores but only 7% of it is legitimate”.

He added that blocking sites serving pirated music would increase traffic to websites offering legitimate, licensed content.

“Enforcing rights against online infringers has been difficult because of the inherent nature of the internet. But IMI, through its consistent and intensive operations, has managed to obtain court orders prohibiting some prominent illegal music websites to stop operation within 36 hours of intimation,” said Savio D'Souza, secretary general, IMI.