Draft e-commerce policy wants body to find pirates, cut their revenue

Bengaluru: In its bid to check online distribution of pirated content, the draft ecommerce policy has proposed to set up a body of industry stakeholders to identify websites that host infringing matter and curtail their advertising and subscription revenue. Online distribution of pirated content is a cause for serious concern, the government said in the draft policy. A Ficci and EY study in March 2018 estimated that the film industry alone loses $2.8 billion in revenue to online piracy.

The draft said such “rogue” websites will be included in the Infringing Websites List (IWL) after verification. ET had on February 6 reported that the Indian film and music industry was teaming up with advertisers to form a voluntary code aimed at reducing ad-supported illegal content. The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), a unit of the commerce ministry’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), is spearheading the effort.